[UgaBYTES] Mobile Phones For Improved Livelihood & Food security In Rural Uganda: The CELAC Project

[Dean Mulozi]

Dear all, 
You may have some interest and ideas from the below Marias Project in Uganda:  

Thanks 

Dean Mulozi, SATNET, Lusaka, Zambia 
...........................................................................


The Collecting and Exchange of Local Agricultural Content (CELAC), is the agricultural wing of the Ugandan NGO, BROSDI (Busoga Rural Open Source & Development Initiative). It aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of rural farmers through engaging the government, private sector and civil society in knowledge sharing and information management using ICTs.

Many ICTs are used but CELAC has realized that one of the most accessible technologies is the mobile phone. It is estimated that in Uganda just like other developing countries, at least one person in every village possesses a phone.  Also, even the most uneducated person can easily learn how to receive and make a phone call. There is no need to go to school.

The CELAC project uses mobile phones for:
o Weekly SMS messages which are sent out to farmers once a week.
o Emergency SMS messages which are only sent in case of an agri-related emergency e.g. if there is a breakout of a disease in a region or country. This is mainly to alert farmers and encourage them to take precautions.
* Agricultural tips on request (through a partnership between BROSDI and the Grameen Foundation). Here a farmer sends a question and a tip is forwarded to him/her in relation to the question asked.
* Phone conferencing is also used n meetings, trainings and forums. These are used especially because BROSDI and CELAC are unable to reach out to each of the groups very often as they are many, and are scattered throughout all regions of Uganda. 
* Telephone calls are made as a way of routine communication to farmers.
* Audio recording and photographs are taken during field visits. The recorded files are then distributed to farmers using CDs.
There is a saying that every good thing has a challenge and the uses of these phones have got the following challenges:
* Some rural farmers in reality can’t afford even the cheapest mobile phone on the market.
* Formerly the farmers had a perception that phones are for telephone calls only. CELAC is overcoming this through sensitization and routine trainings.
*There is also the challenge of routine power cuts and the fact that some areas don’t have electricity at all. Though this can be solved by use of other means like solar chargers, CELAC has not yet been able to address this issue.

The CELAC farmers say that you feel the man of the day once you receive many SMS's at ago, even when you are at a drinking place. People come to you to ask what the SMS is about and you feel so proud explaining the content to them. The SMS's usually have simple locally relevant content such pest control methods or how to untertake a certain agriculture activity.

Written by Mary Nakirya


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--- On Tue, 11/25/08, ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org <ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org> wrote:

> From: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org <ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org>
> Subject: Re: [UgaBYTES] Wireless Africa
> To: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org
> Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 5:48 AM
> I like it.That is another good move.
> How to replicate the service to we small small telecenters.
> Thanks
> Mark Farahani
> 
> 
> --- On Sat, 11/22/08, Cleopa Timon Otieno
> <timonson at googlemail.com> wrote:
> 
> > From: Cleopa Timon Otieno
> <timonson at googlemail.com>
> > Subject: [UgaBYTES] Wireless Africa
> > To: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org
> > Date: Saturday, November 22, 2008, 8:34 AM
> > The just concluded IDRC funded Wireless Africa Project
> > facilitated by Meraka
> > Institute, CSIR introduced simple technological
> solutions
> > Africa as
> > continent needs at this time and age. Voice over IP
> and
> > Wireless Internet
> > Service Provider (VOIP in a box, and WISP in a box,
> mesh
> > potato, Village
> > Telco, Internet and Phone billing) Through WISP
> internet
> > link can be shared
> > amongst neighbors such as schools, organizations and
> > institutions and have a
> > billing system which enables the host to monitor,
> control
> > and bill users.
> > This was a technical and business workshop; to build
> > technical capacity to
> > extend existing networks through introduction of new
> > technologies and use
> > the business model skills acquired sustain it.  The
> > workshop brought
> > together over 13 African countries (refer to website),
> with
> > two
> > representatives each. Most technological solution use
> the
> > open hardware and
> > software to create robust equipment affordable to
> Africa
> > and built with
> > Africa in Mind. The technologies are simplified and
> often
> > referred to as
> > being in a 'BOX'. The amazing part, the
> equipments
> > are low power too.
> > 
> > The future according to the facilitators Alberto
> > Escudero-Pascual and Louise
> > Berthilson founders  of IT46, a Swedish consultancy
> company
> > with focus on
> > information technology in developing regions is that
> the
> > solutions should be
> > a plug and play piece of equipment that any one can
> plug
> > into an existing
> > network (LAN or WAN) to give it more functionality. 
> The
> > team wouldn't be
> > complete without Sebastian Büttrich is a generalist
> in
> > technology with a
> > background in scientific programming and physics.
> > Originally from Berlin,
> > Germany, he worked with IconMedialab in Copenhagen
> from
> > 1997 until 2002. He
> > holds a Ph.D. in quantum physics from the Technical
> > University of Berlin.
> > His physics background includes fields like RF and
> > microwave spectroscopy,
> > photovoltaic systems, and advanced maths. He held a
> > session. He is also a
> > performing and recording musician. What a talent. He
> held a
> > captivating
> > session on Mesh Networking and internet Billing. Did
> you
> > know that mesh
> > networking through use of the very simple networking
> > devices can extend your
> > wide area network over 200km? It is possible.
> > 
> > The Wireless Africa consortia was present and was part
> of
> > the very able
> > facilitators.
> > 
> > The underpinning philosophy of the Wireless Africa
> > initiative is to develop
> > business models that support community owned networks
> > whereby the
> > infrastructure is owned and/or operated locally; local
> > networking costs
> > contained within the community and traffic is
> aggregated at
> > the community
> > level to save through bulk purchase of bandwidth.
> > 
> > Read more from http://www.wireless-africa.org
> > 
> > -- 
> > Cleopa Timon Otieno
> > Ugunja Community Resource Centre
> > www.ugunja.org
> > P.O.Box 330-40606
> > Ugunja
> > Kenya
> > _______________________________________________
> > ugabytes mailing list
> > ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org
> >
> http://lists.ugabytes.org/mailman/listinfo/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org
> 
> 
>       
> 
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