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Ecofarming promotion |
by Fred Wajje
Rural poverty is still an enormous development challenge in Uganda. More than 80% of Uganda’s population lives in the rural settings. Their livelihoods depend on rain fed agriculture, which under the increasing irregularities of seasonal rains makes them very vulnerable to climatic shocks. Not knowing the right time to plant makes agriculture very risky and leading to consequences that include crop failures, livestock loss, poor food production and more so household food insecurity. Ensuring food security, in such rural communities whose livelihoods depend on rain fed agriculture, demands the timely availability of reliable climate advisories. Climate advisories issued by the department of meteorology and other information on agriculture can help the farmers make better farming decisions that ensure household food security.
Communication technologies are central to provision of such information to the rural communities. They are critical means to achieving rural poverty reduction by providing essential services such as transmission and communication of knowledge and information. As farming becomes more and more complex and greater crop yields are required to feed more people, farmers' knowledge and information, need to be constantly up-graded. The staffs of the organizations that support farmers, such as government extension agencies, non-governmental organizations and agri-businesses, also need up-to-date knowledge and information about improved farming. The essential ingredients that farmers and the people who support them need for sustainable food security in Uganda, agricultural knowledge and information can best be provided by the effective use of communication technologies. The communication technologies and know-how exist; the challenge is to use them effectively for sustainable agricultural and rural development, and especially for improved food security.
Realizing the need to respond to the challenge of passing vital development information to rural communities in their local languages on a timely basis, ACMAD (African Center for Meteorological Applications for Development) in Niamey, Niger, initiated the RANET (Radio and Internet, New Information Technologies for Rural Communication) program in 1999 and run a pilot project in Niger. The African national departments of meteorology own ACMAD through memberships. There after in 2000, the Department of Meteorology, RANET program was introduced in Uganda.
The new information technologies used in this program include, AfriStar satellite, Africa Learning Channel, WorldSpace digital receivers, Radio transmitters, windup radios, developmental information, producers of developmental information, rural communities and community facilitators.
Developmental information like climate information produced by Department of Meteorology, and market food prices is uploaded to the AfriStar satellite using Internet connection facilities. The AfriStar satellite then broadcasts this information over one of its channel called Africa Learning Channel over Africa, Uganda inclusive. A community facilitator in the rural communities, can access this information, by tuning the WorldSpace digital receiver to the Africa Learning Channel of the AfriStar satellite, and downloads it to the computer. This information is printed out and communicated to the farmers in the rural communities. The farmers can share this information within the farmers groups for action. In order to reach a bigger audience of the community, the information is communicated over Rural FM radio transmitter. Farmers with wind up radios, or normal radios can listen to this information use it to make better farming decisions that ensure food security.
Development of community information development centers in rural communities.
Increase the quantity and accessibility of developmental information, to ensure its exchange in appropriate ways, and to elicit more information from rural people themselves in order to guide development planning.
As a strategy to ensure the sustainability of the program, the RANET program is implemented on partnership basis. In Uganda the Department of Meteorology implements this program with international, national and local partnerships. On the international scene, RANET is supported by USAID (United States Agency for International Aid), NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) of USA, ACMAD (African Center for Meteorological Application for Development) in Niamey, Niger. On the national scene the Department of Meteorology has collaborated with World Vision Uganda that play a great role in agriculture activities with a rural community focus.
The RANET Uganda program is consistent with the Government of Uganda (GOU), Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), and the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA) of poverty reduction
The primary focus of RANET program in communication for development lies in rural communities. Although these areas host the biggest population of Ugandans, they are often remote and difficult to reach, they lack the infrastructures and communication systems that help townsfolk keep abreast of developments and function effectively as informed participants in development. The food production activities in these communities are mostly handled by women, as such their accessibility to this information and knowledge is highly emphasized. She is central to important activities such as 1) farming 2) health 3) education 4) feeding and taking care of the children. She requires meteorological information for choice of planting dates, organizing for pest control, weeding, choice of harvesting dates, response to weather related diseases and thus plan for household food security.
Activities of the program geared at achieving its objectives include
Operational activities of RANET program in Uganda began in the year 2001 in partnership with World Vision International Uganda. Within this partnership there 10 RANET sites in Uganda in the following areas Nakasongola, Mukono, Tororo, Soroti, Gulu, Hoima, Rakai, Arua, Kabale Mpigi. Community facilitators in these sites, where trained and provided with digital receivers. Developmental information is downloaded by community facilitators and shared with the farmers. Farmers have expressed interest in the information and have used it in making better decisions.
Utilization of these new information technologies and communication of climate information by partners require training.
In order to increase the rural audience that receives the developmental information, the radio component is necessary to be activated in the program.
Expand the number of RANET sites in Uganda to 40 sites
Establish more partnerships so that the number of RANET sites in Uganda increases to 40.
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