Media Coverage : eINDIA 2008

Media Coverage for eINDIA 2008

Extend the role of COPs and networks to advocacy and social mobilization beyond dissemination of innovation and sharing learning in agriculture suggests discussion at eINDIA, India, 31 July 2008

"The Role of COPs and Networks in e-Agriculture" a panel discussion at eIndia.

Over a two hour session a group of distinguished panelists discussed with the eIndia audience the role of communities of practice (COPs) and networks in e-Agriculture. The discussion was moderated by Shalini Kala, IDRC. Rikin Gandhi of Microsoft Research, Digital Green; Alexander Flor of the University of Philippines Open University; Gopi Ghosh of Solution Exchange & FAO; and Michael Riggs of e-Agriculture & FAO, were the panel members. They clarified the concepts of e-Agriculture, COPs and networks and how these can support agriculture and agriculturists.

A diverse audience composed of research scholars, civil society representatives, donors and private sector enriched the discussion raising different issues with the panelists. Agriculture information transfer is a very complex process. COPs and networks bring together people working in agriculture to share both expert and experiential knowledge and disseminate innovation. Thus, wherever there is a knowledge gap COPs have a role to play.

They work well if they are targeted, the purpose is clear and focused, members have incentives to participate, and ICT tools used are appropriate for the COP members. These same factors also have a role to play when engaging stakeholders, especially farmers, in building and sustaining COPs and networks.

Given the nature of agriculture production, if COPs and new ICT tools can improve the speed of information transfer, for instance to tackle a pest attack, they can be very useful for agriculturists.

The discussion also identified the need to generate more evidence regarding impact of COPs and networks on e-agriculture and referred to work that is on-going on the research frameworks to assess this.

The panelist felt it is important to have a clear incentive structure to sustain COPs and extend their role to advocacy and social mobilization.

More information at:
http://www.eindia.net.in/2008/eagriculture/index.asp

URL: http://www.fao.org/world/regional/rap/news_detail.asp?event_id=38428

Focus on multi-stakeholder partnerships and develop tangible new ICT projects says forum at eINDIA 2008, India, 30 July 2008

"Making e-Agriculture Work through Public Private Partnership in Asia" a panel discussion.

At eIndia today, partners in the global e-Agriculture initiative came together to continue the discussion about the role of public private partnerships (PPP) in supporting e-agriculture. (Building on the March 2008 online forum on www.e-agriculture.org.)

The lively audience-focused discussion was anchored by four experienced panelists: Amit Dasgupta, General Manager, IBM Global Services India; Manish Pandey, Deputy General Manager, Katalyst; Naimur Rahman, Director, OneWorld South Asia; Dr N T Yaduraju, National Coordinator NAIP, Indian Council of Agricultural Research; and moderated by Michael Riggs, FAO. The discussion identified the need to move from a focus on PPP to a more inclusive multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSP). The importance of MSP was further supported with examples of the important roles that could be played by stakeholders from government, the private sector, NGOs, farmers, intermediaries, and others.

While potentially complex, this form of relationship has great potential for advancing the use of ICT in support of sustainable rural development. Success depends on merging the different agendas of each stakeholder in complementary ways, finding complementary competencies, and recognizing the professional integrity and incentives of all participants.

In addition to the critical issues identified in the online forum (which are summarized in the forum policy brief, see link below), the discussion added the critical role of addressing organizational issues from the beginning of the programme, in order to assure sustainability and maximize benefits.

The importance of delivering user-focused, demand driven content was re-emphasized, as well as the need to not only continue documenting successful cases of MSP supporting e-agriculture, but to develop from these cases a comprehensive set of business models for implementation.

Finally, it was recommended that the next forum should focus on in country interventions, with clear objectives of defining pilot and proof of concept projects.

More information at:
http://www.e-agriculture.org/fileadmin/uploads/documents/eAgPPPAsiaJuly2008.pdf

URL: http://www.fao.org/world/regional/rap/news_detail.asp?event_id=38427

“Making e-Agriculture Work through Public Private Partnership in Asia” a panel discussion, India, 31 July 2008

Focus on multi-stakeholder partnerships and develop tangible new ICT projects says forum

At eIndia today, partners in the global e-Agriculture initiative came together to continue the discussion about the role of public private partnerships (PPP) in supporting e-agriculture. (Building on the March 2008 online forum on www.e-agriculture.org.)

The lively audience-focused discussion, anchored by four experienced panelists, identified the need to move from a focus on PPP to a more inclusive “multi-stakeholder partnerships” (MSP). The importance of MSP was further supported with examples of the important roles that could be played by stakeholders from government, the private sector, NGOs, farmers, intermediaries, and others.

The complexity of this form of relationship has great potential for advancing the use of ICT to support sustainable rural development. Success depends on merging the different agendas of each stakeholder in complementary ways, finding complementary competencies, and recognizing the professional integrity and incentives of all participants.

In addition to the critical issues identified in the online forum (which are summarized in the forum report and policy brief), the discussion added the critical role of addressing organizational issues from the beginning of the programme, in order to assure sustainability and maximizing benefits.

The importance of delivering user-focused, demand driven content was re-emphasized, as well as the need to not only continue documenting successful cases of MSP supporting e-agriculture, but to develop from these cases a comprehensive set of business models for implementation.

Finally, it was recommended that the next forum should focus on in country interventions, with clear objectives of defining pilot and proof of concept projects.

URL: http://www.e-agriculture.org/19.html?&no_cache=1&L=0&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=756&tx_ttnews
[backPid]=96&cHash=22f4caf5fb

News Brief on eINDIA 2008, Dainik Jagran, Amritsar, July 30, 2008