Learning and sharing in communication
for rural development

Dear All, The highlights of the discussion held on 'The Way Forward' has been uploaded for your information. Thank you!

Thank you Thamizoli for your inputs and also for sharing how gender digital divide could be addressed.

Thank you Jamie, for sharing your insights on the Way Forward for ComDev in Asia Pacific based on the experiences garnered while implementing various projects. It is enriching and we hope to continue learning from PhilRice on the ComDev Asia platform.

Comments from Dr. Archna Kumar: Hello everyone I have really enjoyed learning from all the interesting discussions that have been taking place. I could not actively participate as I was in the field and it took longer than expected because of the heavy rains in the area. In all the discussion I find women farmers are missing. As a group we need to focus more on women farmers and their access and use of ICTs. I think this is not getting reflected enough. We all are aware of the Gender and technology divide however we need to understand more clearly the ‘Gender Digital Divide’ and its ramifications on intra household dynamics, women's agricultural and household work and their bargaining power. A Gender disaggregated understanding of ICTs is much needed and we cannot assume men and women are impacted equally. In a presently ongoing study of IVR operating in Jharkhand we are seeing huge differentials in men’s and women engagement. Also studies of community radio stations are indicating that CR stations policies and structures influence women’s participation and articulations about issues. Special strategies and affirmative action by CR stations and other ICT based initiatives influences and enhances women’s access and participation in ICT based services. Clearly we need to evolve suitable policy and programme strategies for bridging this gap. Also researching ICTs especially from a gender lens requires us to revisit methodologies and tools. We have been using innovative...

Thank you Aldo for sharing the findings of your study. We have seen the growth of mobile phone usage in Asia Pacific but we have yet to tap into its potential as a tool to benefit farmers and rural households. Upakar it would be better if you can more information about the photo completion on family farming like website, venue, date, etc.

Dear All Here is a summary of the main points of discussion of 11 September on “The Way Forward” for ComDev for family farming and rural development in Asia Pacific: •Processes and methodologies that can be applied 1.Participatory and focussed discussion, capacity building with recent development in technology vis a vis availability and applicability in particular area, listing priority, situation analysis and planning must be undertaken 2.Mechanism of delivery including the support system for implementation should be developed along with monitoring and evaluation at grass root level. 3.Government and the universities should re-consider the objectives and think how the researches and academic discourses can be brought to the field easily and frequently to help the farmers. 4.There is a need to re-look on the target, output and outcome of the extension services of the agricultural universities. The agriculture education should not be confined to the campus of the institutions, it must go to the field and the information should be disseminated for the real practitioners in a participatory model of communication. 5.There is a need to change the negative image of agriculture and promote it as a profession that ensures sustainable food production. 6.Mobile phone has more potentiality to reach the farmers individually in Asia. It is the best means of ICT for the rural smallholder farmers as it is portable, handy. It has reached more than 80% of the population with android...

Thank you Pradeep, Ankuran and Madan for your inputs on the processes and methodologies that can be applied, initiatives that should take place and how you and your organisation can contribute to the role of ComDev for family farming and rural development in Asia Pacific. Your contribution and insights are deeply appreciated and noted.

Dear All Here is a summary of Cleofe’s post on 10 September regarding “The Way Forward” for ComDev for family farming and rural development in Asia Pacific. •Designing rural communication services including enabling policies require planning. The benefits of a good ComDev plan far outweigh the time invested doing the plan as errors are minimized and resources are used more efficiently. •Preparatory work has to be done to understand the current situation, issues and the various stakeholders who are affected. This stage already requires participatory communication methods and tools that will help generate the needed information/data. Then this information has to be processed systematically so that any communication service that will be designed will be relevant to the farmers' needs and demands. •An example of this process was followed by Agriculture Information Services (AIS) in the Ministry of Agriculture in Bangladesh while installing its community radio for farming villages. Baseline study on listenership and potential for community participation were conducted. Data on the villagers’ information needs, radio access and ownership, preferred radio programs, formats, time, music and other relevant information for designing a community radio were collected and addressed. This process lead to the ownership of the radio by the villagers who now are active volunteers in collecting community news, airing news and features, and even rendering their talents in singing on the...

Dear All, The website experienced some technical problem this morning but is resolved now thanks to the support of the technical team. The second week discussion report has also been uploaded for your information. Please note that the discussion this week is focussing on “The Way Forward” for ComDev in the region. Please share your views and perspectives on the following questions: •What processes and methodologies can be applied to design demand driven and inclusive rural communication policies/services to advance family farming in Asia Pacific? •What type of initiatives do you think should be put into practice? •How could you or your organisation participate or contribute? I kindly request your feedback and contributions so that we can bring the discussion to its logical end with recommendations for the role of ComDev for family farming and rural development in Asia Pacific region. Thank you!