Strengthening Rural Livelihoods Praise for This Book
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Strengthening Rural Livelihoods Praise for this book ‘A fascinating collection that draws attention to the diverse and important roles of information and communication as resources for people to create sustainable livelihoods.’ Andy Dearden, Professor of Interactive Systems Design, Sheffi eld Hallam University. ‘Strengthening Rural Livelihoods provides a useful and balanced review of the infl uence that mobile phones and the Internet can have on supporting the livelihoods of rural people, and particularly farmers in Asia. Drawing on six case studies from Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines and China, it shows the benefi cial impact that such technologies can have for enhancing livelihood assets, reduc- ing vulnerability, and complementing existing extension services. However, it also importantly highlights the differential impact that these technologies can have: farmers with larger amounts of land use these technologies most, and cultural factors often mean that women use them much less frequently than men’. Tim Unwin, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D and Professor of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London ‘Based on thorough, balanced field research, this book makes a valuable contribution on the impacts of emerging information and communications technologies among rural farming communities in Asia’. Ken Banks, creator of FrontlineSMS and 2010 National Geographic Emerging Explorer Strengthening Rural Livelihoods The impact of information and communication technologies in Asia Edited by David J. Grimshaw and Shalini Kala International Development Research Centre Ottawa • Cairo • Dakar • Montevideo • Nairobi • New Delhi • Singapore Practical Action Publishing Ltd Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire CV23 9QZ, UK www.practicalactionpublishing.org ISBN 978 1 85339 722 6 and the International Development Research Centre P.O. Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3H9 www.idrc.ca/[email protected] ISBN (e-book) : 978 1 55250 517 5 © International Development Research Centre, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publishers. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The contributors have asserted their rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identifi ed as authors of their respective contributions. Since 1974, Practical Action Publishing (formerly Intermediate Technology Publications and ITDG Publishing) has published and disseminated books and infor- mation in support of international development work throughout the world. Practical Action Publishing is a trading name of Practical Action Publishing Ltd (Company Reg. No. 1159018), the wholly owned publishing company of Practical Action. Practical Action Publishing trades only in support of its parent charity objectives and any profi ts are covenanted back to Practical Action (Charity Reg. No. 247257, Group VAT Registration No. 880 9924 76). Cover photo: An Indian farmer using a mobile phone for crop information. Credit: Mr Shanmugapriyan Elangovan, Ekgaon Technologies Indexed by Pindar NZ ltd Typeset by Pindar NZ ltd Printed by Replika Press ltd Contents Figures vi Tables vii About the Editors ix Foreword xi Kevin Cleaver Preface xiii Laurent Elder Acknowledgements xv 1. Beyond technology: making information work for livelihoods 1 David J. Grimshaw 2. Price transparency in agricultural produce markets: Sri Lanka 15 Sriganesh Lokanathan, Harsha de Silva and Iran Fernando 3. A crop nutrient management decision support system: India 33 Daniel Anand Raj, A. V. Poo Murugesan, Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya, S. Olaganathan and K. Sasikumar 4. LifeLines: livelihood solutions through mobile technology in India 53 S. M. Haider Rizvi 5. Connecting to work: non-agricultural livelihood opportunities for rural wage labour in Sri Lanka 71 Amila Balasuriya and Nilakshi de Silva 6. Impact assessment of the e-AGRIKultura project: Philippines 89 Erniel B. Barrios, Joseph Ryan G. Lansangan and John Carlo P. Daquis 7. Evaluation of a rural information project in Ningxia, China 109 Nie Fengying, Zhang Li, Bi Jieying, Liu Fujiang and Tian Xiaochao 8. Beyond projects: making sense of the evidence 133 Jayantha Gunasekera and Ramona Miranda Index 149 Figures 1.1 ICT applications and innovation 4 1.2 Sustainable livelihoods framework 6 1.3 ICTs within the livelihoods framework 7 1.4 Uptake of ICT over time 8 2.1 Average monthly price for cabbage at the DDEC 18 2.2 The Tradenet platform 21 3.1 Web page individualized for each farmer 36 3.2 Detailed online scheduling of tasks, showing when they are completed 40 3.3 System design for paddy cultivation information 41 3.4 Text message on paddy sowing rate 42 3.5 The soil health user manual (in Tamil) helps farmers make the best use of the agro advisory system 43 3.6 Text message on seed treatment 45 3.7 Text message on compost application 46 3.8 Text message on top dressing 47 4.1 IRRAD’s sustainable livelihoods model 55 4.2 Usage of LifeLines 60 4.3 Nature of queries for LifeLines 61 5.1 (a) Sources of information about work opportunities Intervention group 79 5.1 (b) Sources of information about work opportunities Control group 79 5.2 (a) Modes through which information is obtained 80 5.2 (b) Modes through which information is obtained 80 TABLES VII 6.1 ICT and sustainable rural development framework 100 6.2 ICT and development timelines 101 7.1 Increased information access 116 7.2 Farmers’ perception of impact 116 7.3 Attitude of farmers to ICT intervention 117 7.4 Impact on human capital 119 7.5 Impact on social capital 120 7.6 Impact on fi nancial capital 122 7.7 Impact on reducing vulnerability 123 7.8 Age and education dimension of users 124 7.9 Gender and ethnic dimension of users 124 7.10 Profi le of users 125 7.11 The uses and potential impacts of using ICTs for farmers 127 Tables 2.1 Share of GDP and labour force by sector for select South Asian countries 16 2.2 Key livelihood impacts for farmers 22 2.3 Farmers’ assessment of impact of Tradenet system 24 3.1 The villages in the project area 37 3.2 Landholding of farmers in acres 38 3.3 Sources of nutrient information 38 3.4 Comparison of intervention and control farmers with reference to inputs costs and income 44 4.1 The intervention and control groups – differences at a glance 64 5.1 Profi le data for intervention and control groups 76 VIII TABLES 6.1 Income by sources 93 6.2 Use of ICT and ICT services 96 6.3 Perceptions on the purpose of ICT 97 7.1 The characteristics of survey sample 114 7.2 The uses by surveyed counties 126 8.1 Perceived impacts on livelihood assets 135 About the Editors David J. Grimshaw is Head of International Programme: New Technologies with Practical Action and Senior Research Fellow at the Department for International Development. He was previously on the faculty at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, the University of Leeds and Cranfi eld School of Management. Currently, he is a Visiting Professor in Information and Communications Technology for Development at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research interests include ICT4D and the role of new technologies in development. He is the author of Bringing Geographical Information Systems into Business, second edition published by John Wiley Inc. (2000) and joint editor of IT in Business: A Manager’s Casebook (1999). He jointly authored (with Surmaya Talyarkhan and Lucky Lowe) Connecting the First Mile: Investigating Best Practice for ICTs and Information Sharing for Development, Practical Action (2005). He has recently completed a DFID-funded project with a team at Royal Holloway on a systematic review of ‘What are the key lessons of ICT4D partnerships for poverty reduction?’ David has published many papers in academic journals, international conferences and the professional press. He acted as a mentor to the EPSRC-funded project on ‘Bridging the Global Digital Divide’, was a member of an Expert Advisory Panel on ICT for Rural Livelihoods Programme, ODI and World Bank; and was Chair of Demos Committee for the ICTD2010 Conference in London 2010. Shalini Kala has been interested in rural livelihoods and agriculture for over 20 years. During this time, she developed and managed programmes on rural enterprise and livelihoods for marginal and poor farmers; researched on agricul- tural policy reform for the fertilizer industry, seed sector and horticulture value chains as well as assisted programmes to improve linkages among farmers, agricultural research and public agencies. In the last 10 years her focus has been on improving conditions for small holders and the landless with a particular emphasis on access to information and rural knowledge systems to improve market linkages, productivity and incomes. She has worked across the Asia- Pacifi c, and has contributed to similar programmes in Africa, the Middle-East and Latin America. She has an advanced degree in Economics. This page intentionally left blank Foreword At the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in our work to reduce rural poverty we fi nd that poor people are constrained by limited access to information and poor communications technology. While others elsewhere communicate almost instantaneously across conti- nents, people in the remote areas where IFAD works often remain isolated and cut off from the information they need to improve their conditions. While some urban youth have the access and skills to capitalize on new communica- tions technology and new access to information, most young people living in poor rural areas do not. Through its collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in the Programme for Knowledge Networking in Rural Asia and the Pacifi c (ENRAP), IFAD took the opportunity to examine how information- related constraints in poor rural areas are being overcome and how information technology is being employed to the benefi t of men and women, young and old who live there.