Accessible advice
Local language website provides information to Madagascan farmers
Andrianjafy Rasoanindrainy
A local language website gathers content from a wide range of sources and presents the information to Madagascan farmers and extension officers in a variety of formats.
A number of local organisations, including Farming & Technology for Africa (FTA), have been working for several years to develop methods of using ICTs to reinforce extension services and improve the farming industry in Madagascar. In April 2011, they launched a website called the Advisory for Change in Agriculture in Madagascar (AKAMA), which provides information for farmers in the local Malagasy language.
Initially, the site collected details of projects, organisations, institutions and farmers’ associations that practise, disseminate and/or provide agricultural training, along with the types of courses offered. The themes covered on the site relate to both general and more specific agricultural topics, from natural resource management, to processing, post-harvest preservation and marketing.
The website presents the information with text, graphics, audio and video in Malagasy in an effort to be as accessible as possible. The idea is that small-scale farmers would be able to research any agricultural theme in the format most suitable for them, and even download multimedia content for later viewing or listening.
However, estimates show that only 2% of the population in Madagascar has access to the web. The internet does not yet cover the whole country, and is often too costly if a connection is available. Low levels of literacy make it difficult for farmers to make good use of text on the web, even if it is in the local language. Because of this, AKAMA has started working with farmers’ associations, related organisations, the media and existing projects that have the financial and logistical means to convey the information to farmers.
Currently, much of the information that could be interesting to farmers is scattered all over the web, which makes it difficult to find. The quality of information varies greatly and is often presented in a means that is not readily available to farmers. By working with a network of organisations, AKAMA hopes to highlight what information is already available and, just as importantly, point out what is missing, lacking quality or difficult to access.
The website, therefore, is not only intended to be used by farmers, but by anyone involved in the sector, including decision makers, to guide them and to help them understand the weak points and the strong points of the agricultural system in Madagascar.
Improved production
AKAMA is much more than just a website, however. The main aim is to supply multimedia content. The web is only the means of diffusion. The team see the internet and multimedia as potentially very efficient alternatives to traditional extension practices. Many extension officers have to travel large distances (tens of kilometres, often on foot). They can waste a lot of time trying to find village leaders and organising community gatherings. And they can run up a lot of expenses trying to find a solution to farmers’ problems, which in the end is not appropriate as it requires more specialised knowledge. But the technology reduces distances, waiting times and costs while still offering farmers the benefit of effective information.
The website was developed by just two people from FTA, a web designer and a project manager, who has good knowledge of agriculture. Their challenge was to find a way of creating a low-cost, attractively designed portal that was stable and readily available. They decided to use WordPress, a free-to-use open source content management system originally developed for blogging. It is relatively simple, flexible and offered enough features to meet the needs of the project. Several partner organisations and institutes contributed to the original conception and to the selection of content presented on the site.
The website went live on the web in April 2011 and was advertised for a month on local and national radio stations as well as in local newspapers. It is mainly extension workers, larger-scale farmers and agricultural development professionals who currently use the site. Many users also send suggestions and questions, which the team try to deal with and incorporate in regular updates. Farmers meet with partner organisations to provide further feedback.
AKAMA has also had positive feedback from groups as diverse as tour operators and retired people. And, although traffic to the site is not yet high, it remains significant for a site in the Malagasy language. Surprisingly, visitors from the whole world also access the website, even if only for a few minutes.
These are still early days, too soon to tell if the site has already made a difference to the long-term processes in which farmers are involved. However, a pilot study introduced farmers to a video describing cultivation techniques for sweet potatoes. Yields have already improved, giving the team high expectations for the longer-term benefits of the site.
In the near future, AKAMA plans to continue adding content to the site with more video and audio resources, which are more useful for farmers, especially those with low literacy levels. Ideally, farmers and extension agents will be able to access the information, on and offline, from centres spread around the country. The team hopes to further develop its network of partners and contributors to help the portal evolve and make it the foremost agricultural resource in Madagascar.
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Andrianjafy Rasoanindrainy is the manager of the Advisory for Change in Agriculture in Madagascar