An Article on the Utilization of Ghana’s Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) to promote ICT4Ag Development.

Introduction

As nations across the world have recognized the developmental opportunities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s), they continue to explore ways of facilitating their development process through the development, deployment and exploitation of ICT’s within their economies and societies.

It is in line with this that the Ghana ICT4AD policy has been designed to aid in the country’s accelerated development process as the country’s ICT industry continue to offer cutting edge innovations for national development.

As contained in Ghana’s ICT for Accelerated Development (ICTAD) policy, the Community Information Centre (CIC) model has been adopted to provide a hybrid not for–profit community resource centre’s and for profit telecentres across the country.

The Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) works to assist in bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas, create ICT awareness in rural areas, disseminate Information to rural communities in the areas of health, Agriculture, local government, the environment etc.

The Utilization of ICT Innovations is essential
for Ghana's Accelerated Agricultural
Development.

Ghana’s CIC’s also seeks to offer ICT training in rural areas, support business activities in rural communities as well as provide rural communities with information to enhance national integration.

Under a Government of Ghana (GoG) and Government of India (GoI) collaboration, over seventy (70) community information centres have been commissioned across the ten (10) administrative regions of Ghana; an initiative to be replicated across the two hundred and seventy five (275) constituencies of the country.

These CIC’s provides access to internet enabled computers as well as fax, printing, photocopying and telephoning services. These Community Information Centres (CIC’s) are also equipped with televisions to offer rural dwellers the opportunity to be informed, educated and entertained to enhance community development.

Owing to the strategic location and operational model of these CIC’s, the Savannah Young Farmers Network (SavaNet) recommends the utilization of these CIC’s to promote Ghana’s ICT4Ag development.

This article therefore explores the various services that these Community Information Centres (CIC’s) can offer as they employ ICT innovations to promote Ghana’s accelerated Agricultural development.

The Community Information Centre’s of Ghana can therefore be utilized in promoting ICT4Ag Development through the following:

Agribusiness Development Service: following the essential role that the Agribusiness sector play in economic and national development, the CIC’s dotted across the country should be equipped with software’s on farm budgeting and analysis to offer smallholder rural  farmers the opportunity to receive technical support in developing and running analysis on business oriented farm budgets.

These informed farm budgets and analysis will help enhance farmer’s investment in Agriculture in order to address the disappointment many farmers encounter after the production season; owing to their inability to manage their farm enterprises with realistic farm budgets.

The Agribusiness development services that the Community Information Centre’s will offer farmers, will also enable them efficiently manage their production resources for increased Agricultural production.

The ability of the smallholder farmer to develop well informed and business oriented farm budgets will enable them effectively engage financial institutions for Agribusiness loans to enhance their investment in Agriculture for increased production. The farm budget and analysis services that the CIC’s will offer via innovative ICT software’s will also enable farmers understand basic Agricultural economics in order to enable them effectively manage and develop their Agribusiness enterprises.

In their bid to deliver Agribusiness development services, the CIC’s can utilize innovative ICT software’s and on-line platforms to support farmers and Farmer Based Organizations (FBO’s) develop efficient Agribusiness plans that promotes increased Agricultural production.

Innovatively, the CIC’s in Ghana can offer on-line marketing service for farmers in the rural communities in order to link them to produce buying companies, produce aggregators, consumers etc. Advertising the produce of farmers and Farmer Based Organizations (FBO’s) via on-line marketing platforms will improve their market access; thus enabling farmers increase the productivity of their Agribusiness enterprises.

The Savannah Young Farmers Network (SavaNet) also recommends the use of the CIC’s to offer on-line and off-line training on farming via games. The Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) can therefore employ farm stimulation games e.g. Farmer defender by the market research firm ICN group International that gives future farmers the platform to develop their capacity on the fundamentals of farming in their climatic zones.

This service will contribute significantly in promoting the active engagement of the youth in Agriculture to develop viable Agribusinesses across the Agricultural value chain.

The provision of e-Agriculture Advisory Service: following the strategic location of the Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s), these facilities can be utilized for the provision of demand driven e-agriculture extension service on Market information.

The CIC’s in partnership with relevant institutions e.g. the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), the Savannah Young Farmers Network (SavaNet), esoko etc can access current market information e.g. food staff prices at different markets across the country, contract opportunities with produce buying companies etc.

This will provide farmers and Farmer Based Organizations (FBO’s) a one stop platform to access profitable markets in order to enhance their investment in Agriculture for increased Agricultural production.

In their commitment to providing demand driven e-Agricultural Advisory Service, Ghana’s CIC’s can deliver weather updates aimed at equipping farmers with the information needed to engage in precision Agriculture for increased Agricultural production.

As technology dissemination remains essential for the capacity development of farmers, Ghana’s Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) in collaboration with the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) etc can disseminate Agricultural technologies to farmers.

With the technical support of Agricultural extension officers, the CIC’s can disseminate Agricultural technologies employing interactive videos in order to offer farmers a participatory learning platform to develop their capacity in Agriculture.This service will thus contribute significantly in addressing the challenge the rural stallholder farmer face in accessing new Agricultural technologies to enhance their Agricultural productivity.

Furthermore the Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) under an e-agriculture advisory service initiative can offer the rural smallholder farmer current news on Agricultural development. This will ensure that they are better informed as stakeholders in Ghana’s Agriculture sector on interventions by Government and Non-Governmental Organizations in developing the Agricultural sector.

This initiative by the CIC’s will also present the smallholder farmer the opportunity to share their rich knowledge and experience in Agriculture to influence the formulation of innovative and impact oriented Agricultural projects that propels the nation’s Accelerated Agricultural development.

E-Advocacy on Climate Change: following the increasing effect of climate change on Agricultural development and society at large, the Savannah Young Farmers Network (SavaNet) recommends for the utilization of Ghana’s Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) for the delivery of e-advocacy on climate change.

Employing interactive videos, the CIC’s in partnership with relevant institutions can develop the capacity of farmers on the reality of climate change, climate smart Agriculture, civic responsibilities in climate change mitigation and adaptation etc.

These interventions will ensure that the rural smallholder farmer and rural communities come to the reality of climate change and its increasing effect on society. Furthermore, these e-advocacy initiatives will contribute significantly in educating the citizenry on their civic responsibilities in climate change mitigation and adaptation in order to promote their active engagement in addressing the growing influence of climate change on Agriculture and economic development at large.

Owing to the important role that knowledge on climate smart Agriculture play in equipping farmers with the technical expertise required to engage in sustainable Agricultural production, interventions in this regard by the CIC’s will enable farmers adopt climate change adaptive practices in their Agricultural activities.

The contribution of Ghana’s Community Information Centre’s (CIC’s) in carrying out e-advocacy on climate change will therefore strengthen the nation’s commitment in addressing the increasing effect of climate change on national development.

Conclusion

As the introduction of the Community Information Centre concept in Ghana seeks to introduce innovative use of ICT in the provision of information service to promote economic development, the Savannah Young Farmers Network (SavaNet) calls for pragmatic measures to be instituted to ensure the judicious utilization of the CIC’s to promote the nation’s ICT4Ag development in order to propel the accelerated development of Ghana’s Agricultural sector.