Search

Digital extension is widely embraced in African agricultural development, promising unprecedented outcomes and impact. Especially phone-based services attract attention as tools for effective and efficient agricultural extension. To date, assessments of digital extension services are generally ex-post in nature, thus consideration of users and broader systems occurs once an intervention is broadly identified. However, early understanding of user needs, readiness, and relevant context is a prerequisite for successful adoption and sustainable use of digital extension services. We conducted an ex-ante assessment of user readiness (UR) for phone-based services. We developed an ex-ante framework to assess UR, considering capabilities, opportunities, and motivations of targeted users. The case study of Rwandan banana farmers served to verify the UR framework, using survey data from 690 smallholder farmers. Findings demonstrate limited capacity to access and use phone-based extension services, especially those requiring a smartphone, and a mismatch between expected UR and actual UR, current capabilities and opportunities. Findings provide entry points for designing suitable digital extension projects and interventions, suggesting a need for capacity building. The UR-framework provided understanding about current limitations in farmer readiness for digital extension. This ex-ante approach to explore UR before designing digital interventions for African farmers is recommended. It points at the importance of embedding digital technologies into existing practices and creating blends of 'digital' and 'analogue' or 'high-tech' and 'low-tech'. The UR-framework provides a structured approach to developing pre-intervention insights about users and use-context, supporting informed strategizing and decision-making about digital extension. It is a relevant addition to existing readiness frameworks, participatory design methods, and ex-post intervention performance assessments, as part of a balanced readiness level assessment. This is the first ex-ante assessment of UR for digital extension services in an African context, and the first attempt to analyse Rwandan farmers' readiness for digital extension services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human‐centred design (HCD) approaches are adopted to develop digital agriculture interventions inclusively and responsibly. Whether these approaches indeed lead to responsible designs remains unclear, especially for low‐income countries. Using a Rwandan case‐study, we contribute to debates on inclusive, participatory and responsible design by developing a framework for operationalising HCD and responsible innovation in practice and studying the process of designing a digital agriculture intervention for banana disease management. The four dimensions (inclusion, anticipation, reflexivity, responsiveness) of responsible innovation and our own framework of digital rights served as analytical lenses. Findings show that power relations and digital capacity negatively affect user inclusivity in design. The context in which HCD is deployed hinders anticipation, reflexivity and responsiveness, resulting in design decisions that do not fully respect digital rights and thus in potentially irresponsible digital technologies. Broader, long‐term consequences of digital technologies should be a central consideration in design processes, while responsible innovation theory needs to become cognizant of the complex realities in which digital innovations emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess research articles published on ICT4Ag in sub- Saharan Africa, with a view to determining the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the agricultural sector in the region. The agricultural sector in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important sectors that have greatly benefited from the application of ICTs. Research on the application of ICTs is rapidly expanding and therefore requires synthesis to gauge the extent of publication, the subject focus of the research on ICTs for agriculture (hereafter simply referred to as ICT4Ag), and the trend of publication and countries contributing to research on ICT4Ag in sub-Saharan African countries. Relevant data were obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) citation databases using a search query, which combined a variety of agricultural terms and several key, words that constitute ICTs. It was found that ICTs are largely applied for communication and dissemination of agricultural information to and among stakeholders, including farmers and extension workers. Areas of application involve land use, crops [production], animal husbandry, conservation, [soil and crop] management, and climate change. In terms of the broad disciplinary context, the application of ICTs in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa occurs mostly in agronomy, environmental sciences, and dairy and animal science. Although only a few specific names of ICTs were found in the literature on agriculture, ICT-led activities and applications such as remote sensing, GIS, computer programs, software, Landsat, and information systems, among others, provided insight into not only the areas but also the nature of ICT application in agriculture in the region. The internet, radio, computers and mobile phones were among the few types of ICTs that featured in the ICT4Ag literature and are, therefore, deemed to be the commonly used in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Concerning the foreign countries that have collaborated with sub-Saharan Africa in ICT4Ag research, the USA, France and England featured the most, thereby signalling the continuation of colonial legacies in the region. Furthermore, the pattern of collaboration may signal the nature of knowledge and innovation diffusion for ICT4Ag in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, results reveal a diversity of areas of ICT application in agriculture in the region. The study makes recommendations for further research in other geographical regions for comparison purposes; a study to explore other bibliographic databases such as Scopus; and a study to assess the impact of the ICTs on agricultural performance of the affected countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Public and private extension organisations use new-ICTs to augment service delivery and facilitate aspects of innovation-intermediation. • Efforts to support innovation-intermediation used decentralised data collection, monitoring and enhanced connectivity. • The potential of new-ICTs to support innovation-intermediation roles is far from realised. • Conventional communication media remain appropriate for extension service delivery and innovation-intermediation. • Self-organised social media platforms may enhance interaction in innovations systems to achieve collective goals. Abstract Agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa has often been criticised for its focus on linear knowledge transfer, and limited attention to systemic approaches to service delivery. Currently, the region is experiencing a new-ICT revolution and there are high expectations of new-ICTs to enhance interaction and information exchange in extension service delivery. Using an innovation systems perspective, we distinguish the roles demand-articulation, matching demand and supply, and innovation process management for innovation-intermediaries. The study explores literature on how new-ICT may support these roles, with specific interest in the possibilities of environmental monitoring and new forms of organisation enabled by enhanced connectivity. In order to contribute to the understanding of this area, the paper reports on a comparative study of two new-ICT platforms embedded in Ghanaian public and private extension organisations respectively. We assess the roles that these platforms (aim to) support, and document achievements and constraints based on interviews with extension staff and farmers. The findings indicate that while both platforms aim to support innovation-intermediation roles the focus areas and level of detail differ due to diverging organisational rationales to service delivery. In addition, we see that new-ICTs' potential to support innovation-intermediation roles is far from realised. This is not due to (new) ICTs lacking the capacity to link people in new ways and make information accessible, but due to the wider social, organisational and institutional factors that define the realisation of their potential. Therefore, more conventional modes of interaction around production advice and also credit provision continue to be dominant and better adapted to the situation. However, beyond the two platforms that were developed specifically by and for the extension organisations, there were indications that more informal and self-organised new-ICT initiatives can transform and enhance interaction patterns in innovations systems to achieve collective goals through standard virtual platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Xanthomonas Wilt of Banana (BXW) is a complex problem for farmers in Central Africa. • Data, information, and knowledge gaps form an obstacle for BXW control and prevention. • Increased stakeholder connectivity is critical for effective local and regional interventions. • Appropriate ICT and citizen science innovations could enhance BXW control and prevention. • ICT and citizen science are no panacea and need to be complimented by other forms of service delivery. Abstract Xanthomonas Wilt of Banana (BXW) is a complex problem in the African Great Lakes Region that is affecting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. Since the first disease reports from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001, BXW has been studied widely. The majority of these studies focus on the technological or biophysical dimensions, while aspects and influence of socio-cultural, economic and institutional dimensions only recently started to gain attention. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the broader BXW problem using a systems perspective, with the aim to add to the understanding about reasons for poor uptake of appropriate disease management practices, and limited ability to prevent rather than control BXW in the region. We comprehensively describe and analyse the various problem dimensions, and determine relations with data, information, knowledge, and connectivity. Building on this, the paper explores and discusses entry-points for the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and citizen science tools to better address BXW in banana production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation based on information and communication technology (ICT) plays an increasingly important role in agricultural research-for-development efforts. It has been recognized, however, that the weak adoption and low impact of many ICT-for-agriculture (ICT4Ag) efforts are partly due to poor design. Often, design was driven more by technological feasibility than by a thorough analysis of the target group's needs and capacities. For more user-centered ICT4Ag development, there is now growing interest in the use of systematic, participatory design methodologies. Numerous methodologies for participatory design exist, but applying any of them in smallholder farming context can create specific challenges that digital development researchers need to deal with. This article aims to support future digital development efforts by contributing practical insights to recent discussions on the use of participatory design methodologies for ICT4Ag development. We present lessons learned from practical experiences within participatory design projects that developed ICT4Ag solutions in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Based on these experiences and supported by literature, we describe common challenges and limitations that digital designers may face in practice, and discuss possible opportunities for dealing with them. The outcomes of digital design projects within research-for-development efforts can be affected by tensions between design ideals and project realities. These tensions may relate to, among others, mismatching expectations among project stakeholders, top-down hierarchies at design partners, insufficient attention to the wider digital ecosystem, and disincentives to re-use ideas and software. Depending on project context, these challenges may need to be addressed by researchers during planning and implementation of digital design projects. The insights in this article may support agricultural development researchers in facilitating more effective participatory design processes. Even though good design is not the only precondition for a successful ICT4Ag service, this can help create more meaningful digital innovation for agricultural development. [Display omitted] • Digital development is becoming mainstream in research-for-development, requiring new skills and methods from researchers. • Applying participatory design methodologies in digital development projects can help develop more user-centered innovation. • Research-for-development project context creates challenges for participatory design processes. • We present lessons learned from practical experiences within participatory design projects for digital solutions. • Insights and recommendations may support development researchers in engaging more successfully in digital design processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exposure to ICT-enabled extension raised awareness but was not associated with increased uptake of fertilizers and seeds. • Personal connections to participatory farm trials were correlated with farmers' adoption of promoted seeds and fertilizers. • Women were less likely to engage with ICT services and somewhat less likely to adopt promoted technologies. • Voice-based push messaging shows promise in spreading information and encouraging behavior change. • Market failures, choice of technologies, and message complexity likely reduced the effectiveness of ICT-enabled extension. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are generating substantial interest from aid donors and development practitioners, including as tools for agricultural extension. However, empirical evidence of the impact of ICT-enabled extension on farmers' uptake of introduced technologies remains scarce. This four-year study evaluates an ICT-enabled extension project in Senegal using radio and mobile phone services to encourage rural smallholder farmers' use of certified improved seeds and organic and inorganic fertilizers across Senegal. Data were collected using large-scale annual surveys in six regions over four years as well as focus groups. The findings suggest that, in general, the forms and format of ICT-enabled extension services deployed failed to significantly contribute to the adoption of promoted technologies. Personal connections to participatory farm trials were consistently associated with adoption, and phone-based voice messaging appears to have potential to increase technology uptake. Gender-based disparities in engagement with ICT services and Senegal's poorly developed systems for producing and distributing quality seeds emerged as key factors limiting the effectiveness of this project. These findings raise concerns about the equity and effectiveness of ICT-enabled extension in promoting agricultural inputs in contexts like Senegal and have important implications for similar efforts in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]