Audio Conferencing for Extension (ACE) Project

The project is designed to address challenges farmers face with agricultural extension, where services can be irregular and farmers are not involved in the development of content. Many young farmers especially feel that extension delivery methodologies are not tailored to their specific needs to see agriculture as a business, while the steady decline in productivity leads to the migration of youth to urban areas to look for non-existent jobs.

Community agricultural information (CAI) officers are present with the farmers during the audio conference to facilitate discussions to ensure that farmers can express their concerns and demands, and actively participate in the development of extension advice. They use a cell phone with an audio conferencing function, attached to a portable loudspeaker so that everyone in the group can hear the responses from the advisers. The farmers contribute by speaking close to the cell phone.

The CAIs document the proceedings of each audio meeting for deliberation afterwards, and to make sure that the farmers understood the responses from SYFN and the other participants. Each CAI has a laptop so that they can type out their reports and connect to the internet, when available, and communicate directly with SYFN central office using a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) application, such as Skype.
Trained CAIs also use digital cameras to make short, simple video documentaries portraying the challenges faced by farmers, and any solutions they might have developed.

Where possible, the CAIs use local agricultural information and research (AIR) centres with internet access to upload the short films to YouTube, where SYFN staff and other project researchers can view them. In areas where there is no internet, the videos are saved onto CD-ROMs that SYFN officers can collect on their weekly visits. Previous videos have featured subjects such as weed infestation, pests and diseases affecting crops and animals, model farms that display good cultural practices, post-harvest management challenges and successes. The videos help SYFN and the other project staff to develop specific extension advice to address the various issues, and offer guidance on broader concerns affecting the farmers.

Agriculture, Youth, Technology

According to SYFN, through the ACE programme, farmers can now access extension information when they need it, in time to tackle problems, increase productivity, and improve living standards. These developments, coupled with other SYFN initiatives using ICTs has led to more young people in the target communities adopting farming as a livelihood, and helped them to organise themselves into farmer based organisations. Specific agricultural business training has led many young farmers to establish a variety of enterprises throughout the value chain, leading to improvements in the system, providing new employment opportunities and reducing migration to the urban areas.