Development of a Knowledge Management System Integrated with Local Communication Channels and Knowledge Management Initiatives for Kenyan Rural Farming Communities

yesThis paper presents an innovative application of wireless, mobile and ubiquitous technologies to support informal and collaborative learning in Kenyan rural farming communities. Such an approach is achieved by the development of a knowledge management system (KMS) integrated with existing local community communication channels, together with experimental knowledge management (KM) initiatives employing the VeSeL (Village e-Science for Life) distributed resource kits (DRKs). The initiatives support illiterate and semi-literate farming community groups, in learning new agriculture practices, and also enable the use of advanced digital technology to improve their agricultural practices and literacy levels. Results of a recent field trip to Kenya are presented and an application sketch is developed. The process of applying wireless and Internet technologies for the education of local farming communities, using irrigation and water management as the application, concludes the paper.EPSR

Innovations in rural and agriculture finance

Most rural households lack access to reliable and affordable finance for agriculture and other livelihood activities. Many small farmers live in remote areas where retail banking is limited and production risks are high. The recent financial crisis has made the provision of credit even tighter and the need to explore innovative approaches to rural and agricultural finance even more urgent. This set of 14 briefs clearly points out the importance of business realities faced by small farmers, including low education levels, the dominance of subsistence farming, and the lack of access to modern financial instruments. These conditions mean that new and innovative institutions are required to reach small farmers. Emerging communication technologies provide new opportunities for rural banking by reducing business costs and alleviating information asymmetries. New financing instruments, such as weather index-based insurance and microinsurance, also have great potential for managing the risks faced by small farmers. In addition, bundling financial services with nonfinancial services like marketing and extension services offers new opportunities for small farmers to increase their productivity and incomes. Finally, an enabling policy environment and legal framework, enforcement of rules and regulations, and a supportive rural infrastructure all contribute immensely to making sustainable access to finance a reality. Table of Contents: •Innovations in rural and agriculture finance: Overview by Renate Kloeppinger-Todd and Manohar Sharma •Financial literacy by Monique Cohen •Community-based financial organizations: Access to Finance for the Poorest by Anne Ritchie •Rural banking in Africa: The Rabobank approach by Gerard van Empel •Rural banking: The case of rural and community banks in Ghana by Ajai Nair and Azeb Fissha •Rural leasing: An alternative to loans in financing income-producing assets by Ajai Nair •Determinants of microcredit repayment in federations of Indian self-help groups by Yanyan Liu and Klaus Deininger •M-PESA: Finding new ways to serve the unbanked in Kenya by Susie Lonie •Biometric technology in rural credit markets: The case of Malawi by Xavier Giné •Credit risk management in financing agriculture by Mark D. Wenner •New approaches for index insurance: ENSO insurance in Peru by Jerry R. Skees and Benjamin Collier •Microinsurance innovations in rural finance by Martina Wiedmaier-Pfister and Brigitte Klein •Combining extension services with agricultural credit: The experience of BASIX India by Vijay Mahajan and K. Vasumathi •Bundling development services with agricultural finance: The experience of DrumNet by Jonathan Campaigne and Tom RauschAgricultural innovations -- Developing countries, agriculture finance, Financial crisis, microinsurance, Poverty reduction, rural banking, Rural finance, Rural households, Small farmers,

The SmartAG Partner: CCAFS East Africa Quarterly Newsletter, April - June 2015

We are pleased to share the ninth issue of the SmartAG Partner- a quarterly newsletter of CCAFS East Africa. After being mostly overlooked for the last ten years, agriculture was on the agenda of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA42) in Bonn, Germany. SBSTA42 presented an opportunity for science generated from the CGIAR to inform negotiations on critical issues related to agriculture and food security. These included the urgent need for early warning systems and the impacts of climate change on African agriculture with a focus on pests and diseases. Read more about progress made in Bonn from two articles describing progress on agriculture and how to bridge the science-policy gap. Additionally, read about a recently launched project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) on a user-friendly forecasting system that integrates improved seasonal climate information and how it will make it possible for east African policy makers to access accurate and timely early warning systems. Under the science section, new research data shows drought and pest epidemics are among top climate related risks faced by smallholder farmers in rural Uganda. Read on to learn how farmers are designing strategies to cope with these risks. In May, we hosted CCAFS Program Management Committee and Independent Science Panel members at the Nyando climatesmart villages in Kisumu, Kenya. We share lessons from the local community in Nyando on how to respond to climate related risks while addressing food insecurity. Dr. James Kinyang