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The dynamic growth of mobile communications technology is creating opportunities for economic growth, social empowerment, and grassroots innovation in developing countries. One of the areas with the greatest potential impact is in the contribution that mobile applications can make to agricultural and rural development (ARD), by providing access to information, markets, and services to millions of rural inhabitants. For both agricultural supply and demand, mobile phones can reduce waste, make delivery more efficient, and forge closer links between farmers and consumers. This report provides policymakers and development practitioners with a guide that facilitates the development and deployment of mobile applications for ARD. It also informs their understanding of the key drivers for promoting such applications and services in their countries. Using James Moore’s (1996) revised definition of ecosystems: economic communities based on interacting organizations and individuals the report identifies a wide range of players in the ecosystem for m-ARD apps, such as mobile network operators, m-app (mobile applications) providers, content providers, and various types of users. M-apps are software designed to take advantage of mobile technology and can be developed for technology besides mobile phones. But mobile phones have many key advantages: affordability, wide ownership, voice communications, and instant and convenient service delivery. As a result, there has been a global explosion in the number of m-apps, facilitated by the rapid evolution of mobile networks and by the increasing functions and falling prices of mobile handsets. M-apps are markedly different in developing countries because they typically run on second-generation (2G) phones rather than smartphones, which are far more common in developed countries. The report reviews country examples and extracts policy lessons and good practices. It also presents detailed studies of cases from Kenya, Philippines, and Sri Lanka, as well as summarizes 92 case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the development impact, ecosystem, and business models for mobile applications in ARD. The report is intended to complement the recent ICT in Agriculture eSourcebook. One of the main findings is that an enabling platform (or platforms) is probably the most important factor for the development of m-ARD apps. Platforms can facilitate interactions among ecosystem players, increase access to users, provide technical standards, and incorporate payment mechanisms.

This is the Global Program Review (GPR) of three related global partnership programs that aim to develop statistical capacity in developing countries the Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics (MAPS), the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21), and the Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB). The three programs have been reviewed together in a single GPR because they have similar objectives, because the World Bank has been heavily involved in all three programs, and because of the potential to learn cross-cutting lessons of experience in relation to statistical capacity building (SCB). This GPR has also reviewed relevant internal materials (progress reports, results frameworks, minutes of governing body meetings, etc.) and other information available on the web. In addition, IEG has independently obtained opinions and views on the three programs by interviewing staff of the Bank and the PARIS21 Secretariat, and selected members of the PARIS21 Board at the 2010 Board meeting in Paris, France. This Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) review has identified a number of weaknesses in the external evaluations. First, while all three external evaluations clearly state that the assessment of program effectiveness was in their terms of reference, the focus was predominantly on processes and activities, with insufficient emphasis given to outputs and outcomes. While this may be justified by technical and conceptual challenges, the evaluations could have identified concrete ways in which the programs have contributed to the improvement in statistics and statistical capacity. Second, while all three evaluations share the common concern on the inadequate implementation of National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDSs), they did not provide useful insights on how or to what extent NSDSs have helped with the development of national visions for statistical development. Third, there could have been a sharper focus and more specific recommendations on the notable lack of progress in the use of statistics in sub-Saharan Africa. Lastly, it would have been useful to have more systematic cross-references to the results of the analyses in the three evaluations.