Presentation by : Stephen Kibet Rono, Information Management Officer, AIRCState Department of Agriculture, MOALF, Kenya Session: Implementation of ICT for Development Strategies in Agriculture on 5 Nov 2013 ICT4Ag, Kigali, Rwanda

1. Adoption of Web24Dev tools in
e-extension project in Kenya
Speaker: Stephen Kibet Rono,
Information Management Officer, AIRC
State Department of Agriculture, MOALF, Kenya.

2. About : AIRC
Agricultural Information Resource Centre
• AIRC is a division in the state
department of Agriculture, Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
(MOAL&F)
• Acquiring,
repackaging
and
disseminating
of
agricultural
information using different platforms.

3. AIRC conference facilities
AIRC Conferencing charges (1USD = KSH 85)
Item
USD
Boarding charges
Full board
$39
Bed breakfast
$19
Day meals (lunch and 2 teas)
$12
½ Board (bed, dinner and breakfast)
$26.5
Boarding only (no meals)
Single occupancy (per head)
$14
Double occupancy (per head)
$ 12
Hire of seminar room/day
Big (upto 35-50 pax)
$35
Small (12 pax)
$24
Dining hall
$82
Hire of equipment
LCD projector
$ 48
LCD and laptop
$ 94

4. Fact file:
The agriculture sector in Kenya
• Agriculture is the mainstay of the
Kenyan economy, contributing 2 % of
the GDP directly and another 27 %
indirectly annually.
• The sector accounts for 65 % of the
country’s total exports and provides
more than 60% of informal
employment in the rural areas.
• In the Kenya vision 2030 It is expected
to deliver an annual economic growth
rate of 10%

5. Cont.
Agricultural Extension Service in Kenya
• The agricultural sector extension service
plays a vital role in the sharing of
knowledge, technologies, agricultural
information and linking the farmer to other
actors in the economy.
• The main challenge facing extension
services is the low staff: farmer ratio.
• The public extension service adapted the
demand driven, common interest groups
(CIG) approach.

6. Mitigation:
Use of ICT in Agriculture – e-extension approach
• The MOA has embraced the use of eextension to provide a platform to efficiently
and effectively share agricultural information to
the stakeholders in the sector.
• E-Extension will involve use of mobile phone
platform (e.g bulk SMS services) and the
internet (e.g Web24dev and social media) – as
a way of communicating with stakeholders.
• Creation of Partnership with other stakeholders
in development of content, capacity

7. E-Agriculture apps
Embracing new technology and innovations
• Precision Agriculture
– Use ICT to obtain more precise information
about agricultural resources and planning
• E-Commerce
– Use the internet to access information on
commodity prices, inputs etc and undertake
web-based transactions.
• Agricultural Information Exchange and
Communication - E-Extension
– Efficient/effective delivery of agricultural
information and knowledge services.

8. Challenges
Application of E-Extension tools
• Inadequate staff/farmer access to ICT
infrastructure and facilities
• Absence of appropriate skills among
extension staff, farmers and other
stakeholders in agriculture
• Inadequate presence and use of online
agricultural repositories
• Lack of adequate/accessible local
extension content in appropriate digital
format

9. Drivers of ICT in Agriculture
Five key drivers on the use of ICT in agriculture
1. Low-cost and pervasive connectivity,
2. Availability of Adaptable and more affordable
ICT tools,
3. Advances in data storage and exchange,
4. Innovative business models (e.g. MPESA
and other partnerships)
5. The democratization of information, including
the open access movement and social
media.

10. Mobile and internet usage in Kenya
Mobile and internet usage in Kenya (source CCK 2013)
–
–
–
–
–
Mobile phone subscribers = over 30 million,
Mobile penetration = 77%.
Access to internet services = 41.6 %
Internet subscriptions 9.6 million
Estimated number of internet users 16.4
million
• The increased demand for data/internet services
enhanced by increased access via mobile
phones (which is the most preferred medium for
accessing social media by the youthful
population).

11. Existing Internet Bandwidth potential
Bandwidth utilization – source:CCK 2013
• There are Five Major international internet bandwidth
providers namely SEACOM, TEAMS, EASSY, LION2
and VSAT
• Total bandwidth capacity = 921,319 Mbps
• Actual utilisation = about a third - (33.4%) or 307,307
Mbps
• Substantial bandwidth capacity is yet to be exploited.
• Investment in the data/internet market has risen from
Ksh 830 million to over Ksh. 26 billion in 2011.
• The growth in international bandwidth indicates the
increased demand for data services as witnessed in the
growth of internet usage in the country.
(Source CCK 2013)

12. Opportunities
Application of ICT4Ag in Kenya
• Use of bulk SMS and the internet by the Overstretched extension staff to reach more farmers.
• Packages can be designed to be highly
interactive and captivating- with photos, videos,
illustrations etc.
• Improved ability to search, access & share
knowledge and skills on farming technologies
• Reduced costs on extension and training and
optimized use of resources
• Enhanced management of programs and projects
using open source tools.
End of part 1

13. The e-Extension Project
Part 2

14. About the e-Extension project
Objectives, Outputs and activities.
• Project title: “E-Extension Project for
Enhanced Agricultural productivity and Food
Security”
• Implementation Period: 2013 - 2016
Financial Year
• Overall objective: is “to improve extension
service delivery through cheap and effective
transmission of agricultural information and
technology across the value chain”.
• Has 3 main outputs

15. Output No. 1
Equip Information desks with ICT facilities
and equipment for internet and mobile Access
• Provision of the following tools/capacity
– Shock proof Laptop computers
– USB 3G Modem and data bundle
– Smartphone with airtime
– Training of trainers on application of
ICT in agriculture extension.

16. Output 2
Staff Trained on application of E- Extension
at county, Sub County and Ward Level.
• The e-extension curriculum
1. Module 1: E-Extension In Agriculture Concept
2. Module 2: Introduction to ICT Management
3. Module 3: Smart Phone Use And Management
4. Module 4: Web24dev In Agriculture
5. Module 5: Information Management Resource
Kit (IMARK)
6. Module 6: Accessing Online E Resources
AGORA, OARE, others
7. Module 8: Agricultural Information Platforms
8. Module 9: Information Security

17. Output 3
Farmers trained through e extension
Application of ICT4Ag in agricultural extension
– Information sourcing and packaging from e
resources.
– Information dissemination to farmers by use
of short text message and email
– Responding to e mails, calls and short text
messages from farmers.
– Farmers training on accessing information
from e-extension platforms

18. E-extension project
Activities: Output 1
1. Equip Information desks with ICT
facilities and equipment for internet Access
2. Training of field officers on operation and
Maintenance of ICT facilities and
equipment.
Activities: Output 2
1. Develop training curriculum and Manual for e
extension
2. Conduct training of trainers workshops
3. Train County Staff on e- extension
4. Train Sub County Staff on e-extension
5. Train Ward Staff on e- extension

19. Cont.
Activities ; output 3 (including indicators)
1. Information sourcing and packaging from e
resources - 6,000 information products per
year
2. Information dissemination to farmers by use of
short text message - 600,000 farmers per year
3. Information dissemination to farmers by use of e
mail - 60,000 farmers per year
4. Responding to e mails, calls and short text
messages from farmers. 60,000 responses per
year
5. Farmers training on accessing information from
e-extension platforms - 60,000 farmers per year

20. Objectively verifiable indicators
Summary of other indicators
GOALS:
• Increased Agricultural Productivity by 2%
• Increased Farm income by 0.5%
• Increased extension coverage 20%
OUTPUTS:
• 1450 Information desks equipped
• 3,000 Extension Staff trained
• 720,000 farmers per year

21. Achievements of e-extension as at 6/2013
E-extension curriculum & manual developed:
• Was developed by AIRC and the extension
division of the MOA
• Development of the manual relied on skills
acquired during web 2.0 learning
opportunities organized by CTA at AIRC and
Moi University.
• Manual was Pre-tested in staff training
workshops

22. Cont
Staff training and capacity development
• 67 frontline extension officers trained in the
months of April and June 2013.
• After the training the pax were issued with a
total of 600 shock-proof Mecer laptops
and smart phones.

23. Cont.
TOT workshop on web24dev undertaken
• Objective: To develop the skills of e-extension
training unit to facilitate in the training and
backstopping of frontline staff on web24Dev in
agriculture.
• Achievements: A total of 23 staff drawn from
the MOA HQ, KEPHIS, ASDSP and AIRC were
trained on web 2.0 TOT on 10th to 14th June
2013 by a team from Moi University supported
by CTA.
• Facilitation cost was met by the GOK.

24. Conclusion
wayforward
• The majority of farmers in Kenya now have
mobile phones or access to internet
which means that the e-extension project
can provide them with:
– Information using text messages, blogs
and for those with smart phones –
information on the Internet.
– Extension staff will reach large
numbers of farmers using bulk SMS.
– Farmers will communicate directly with
extension staff.

25. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING
.
End of Presentation