Enhancing Real Time Information Delivery to Small-holder Farmers in Africa and South Asia through Community Knowledge Workers

Abstract

Solution Scenario Concept: During the site visits to Asia and Africa regions, the WorldAgInfo project Design Team members observed that the information delivered by the government run extension system does not reach smallholders at the village level. This impacts the adoption (or non-adoption) of crop management practices by small holder farmers such as adoption of improved seeds, pest management practices and other farm management practices, etc. The concept presented here addresses this constraint by building a large cadre of “Community Knowledge Workers” to be placed at the “Village Knowledge Centers” to effectively work with smallholders in providing real-time information on production technologies/practices through the use of both conventional methods and through the emerging tools of ICTs.