Knowledge transfer in South-East Nigeria for usage of ICT tools
Senior consultant and expert at GGP, Nikola Trendov visited Nigeria with main aim to deliver experience and transfer know-how in the area of ICT in agriculture among the small-scale farmers in Nigeria.
The expertise in this project was delivered in few stages and one day workshop was organized together with representatives of Keystone Bank as one of most recognized Banks in Nigeria that provides agri finance and encourage small-scale farmers to invest in ICT.
Topics that were discussed
Successful case studies from EU that show investing solely in technology will not ensure successful implementation of ICT applications if they are not interpreted and adjusted to the local farmers’ needs. The experts find out that it is necessary in near future to invest in a team and partnership between Keystone Bank and GGP which can effectively monitor and evaluate farmers in the usage ICT tools, as well as to invest in capacity development of those farmers who can ensure the sustainability of their ICT farming plan.
Therefore, second topic of the workshop addressed the complexity of the ICT tools and platforms that are not necessarily essential. The conclusion of the expert was that those technologies which are already being used by farmers should be taken into consideration and serve as very basis for further ICT tool development. For example, a combination of traditional instruments to collect basic data in the field, which is then recorded in Excel and subsequently shared free of cost with potential buyers in real-time through different platforms.
Last topic of the workshop was the statement of contextual factors which are obstacles for those farmers trying to use ICT tools on their farms such as lack of adequate resources (electricity, gender issues, limited network and internet penetration, local languages). Strategic approaches need to identify the specific needs of the intended users by working in collaboration between the farmers and partnership team GGP and Keystone Bank.
