The document summarizes a presentation on implementing an ICT User Response System (URS) for sustainable agriculture in Africa. It discusses how the URS, which includes platforms like The Organic Farmer magazine, TOF Radio, SMS services, and Android applications, promotes sustainable agriculture practices. The URS saw significant readership and user growth between 2005-2012 in several African countries. The presentation recommends that the URS leverage networks like Facebook and involve field workers and researchers to facilitate technology adoption and improve content based on user feedback, including potentially user-generated content. It also notes that the Android and Salesforce-based system provides an affordable and flexible setup.

1. UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development
2012 International Conference
31 May 2012, EPFL (Lausanne)
Implementing an ICT User Response System
(URS) for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa
Christoph Hess (MA UZH)
Strategy Consultant
mail@christophhess.ch
@christophhess
www.delicious.com/christophhess/Tech4Dev
http://ch.linkedin.com/in/christophhess

2. How can sustainable agriculture
reduce poverty?
How does the URS contribute to the
promotion of sustainable agriculture?
What did we learn and which
recommendations can we make?

3. How can sustainable agriculture
reduce poverty?
How does the URS contribute to the
promotion of sustainable agriculture?
What did we learn and which
recommendations can we make?

4. Less dependence
on market prices
if small-scale
farmers can
produce for own
consumption.
Lower costs for
inputs without
chemical
fertilizers and
pesticides.

5. How can sustainable agriculture
reduce poverty?
How does the URS contribute to the
promotion of sustainable agriculture?
What did we learn and which
recommendations can we make?

6. The Organic Farmer (TOF)
TOF Radio
Infonet-Biovision

7. The Organic Farmer (TOF)
SMS
TOF Radio
Android applications
Infonet-Biovision

8. 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

9. Uganda
Ethiopia
(monthly)
(monthly)
10ʻ000 readers
5ʻ000 readers
2ʻ000 surfers
1ʻ000 surfers
Kenya (monthly)
Tanzania
180ʻ000 readers
(monthly)
3ʻ000ʻ000
45ʻ000 readers
listeners
2ʻ000 surfers
7ʻ000 surfers

10. Search and Survey
application for
Huawei Ideos: Light
version of Infonet-
Biovision and
surveys for data
collection.

11. Back-end of the
URS is cloud-based
in Salesforce: For
content manage-
ment, survey
creation and data
analysis.

12. How can sustainable agriculture
reduce poverty?
How does the URS contribute to the
promotion of sustainable agriculture?
What did we learn and which
recommendations can we make?

13. Prototype with
participatory de-
sign and develop-
ment: We could
explore needs and
habits (Dearden/
Rizvi 2008).

14. Android + Salesforce
Salesforce and
Android provide an
affordable, flexible
and state-of-the-art
setup which is also
successful outside
the NGO world.

15. NGOʻs canʻt ignore
Facebookʻs
success. Other
than SMS and mo-
bile applications,
itʻs embedded in
networks.

16. Networks + Devices + Users + Content
Success of any
ICT4D setup
depends on this
equation. Our
challenge: We can
only influence
content.

17. Field workers:
Trusted local
people facilitate the
adoption of tech-
nology (Campbell/
Russo 2003).

18. Researchers at
icipe can take
action based on
feedback: Create
new content or
improve existing
content.

19. Potential for user
generated content:
Mobile phone is a
tool which is used
for self-expression
(Donner 2009).