Silvia Gaiani

Technology for agriculture: Information channels for decision making in Chamwino, Tanzania

Small scale farmers (SSFs) rely on information sources, which range from traditional means to modern information channels. This research explores the current decision making and information gaining mechanisms of small scale farmers in Chamwino District, Tanzania, where small scale farmers are experiencing low productivity, lack of infrastructures, and malnutrition. In-depth focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with a total of 94 participants. The interviews were built around several themes (crop farming activities, types of information sources, decision making processes) divided between the farming seasons (pre-farming, tilling, weeding, post-weeding, harvesting, post-harvesting). Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. The results reveal a number of contextual challenges in small scale farming. The analysis suggests a number of engineering solutions to address the identified challenges.

Women empowerment in rural areas through the usage of telecentres - a Sri Lankan case study

Information and Communication Technologies can have a strong impact on the development of a region: telecentre networks are in particular interesting model for e-learning dissemination to rural areas. The focus area of our investigation is Sri Lanka: the country has a long tradition in terms of gender equality - as it promotes an inclusive education system - and the use of ICTs is widespread. So far 600 of the planned 1000 telecentres have been started following the Nenasala network model. This paper is based upon observations and interviews of women and men working in different roles (owner, manager, operator and user) at telecentres in rural Sri Lanka. The aim of the study is to analyze and discuss the role of telecentres in rural areas and their impact on women empowerment. Findings show that telecentres open up new channels of information and create career opportunities for women in rural areas. Through telecentres, women can improve their life and be active participants in the rural development. However there still exists a need for further improvements and support for females in the Sri Lankan telecentre network.

Technology for Small Scale Farmers in Tanzania: A Design Science Research Approach

Small scale farmers (SSF) in Tanzania are challenged by food insecurity, lack of infrastructure, lack of access to credit and services, and lack of reliable channels for farming information. Despite various initiatives the agriculture sector in Tanzania has remained poor. Unreliable information has been found as one factor that hinders decision‐making and productivity. This study is the first step in a design science research (DSR) approach to address farmers’ challenges directly with technology. This research studied the acute challenges, information channels, and information gaps of SSFs in Chamwino, Tanzania. Based on our previous qualitative results, a structured questionnaire containing 76 items on a Likert scale was administered to 150 small scale farmers in Chamwino, Tanzania. A response rate of 83% (n=124) was reached. The data was analyzed for descriptive statistics as well as basic measures of statistical association. The results show that farmers rely on tacit knowledge in regards of weather information, market data, plant and disease identification, and business management, and are vulnerable to middlemen frauds and inaccurate decision making. Many of these challenges can potentially be solved by technology. A number of engineering solutions for the basis of future DSR projects are proposed.

Context-aware agriculture organizer

Ubiquitous computing has become popular and is in demand in many fields of human activity. This kind of computing could significantly enhance applications such as an organizer by making it more agile through sensing the environment. The context-aware agriculture organizer (CAAO), which was pursued by this study, facilitates farmers work by providing relevant contextual information to the users, thus simplifying the selection of plants and resulting to better harvest and more effective resource usage. The idea behind the CAAO is not to control the process of crops growing but rather make it smoother and more productive while simultaneously providing a platform for agricultural research. The study had objectives of creating a technical framework for CAAO with basic functionality and providing ideas for further development. Literature analysis and exploratory software development served as methods of the study. Context-awareness in the CAAO can be achieved by data acquired from sensors, and sensor observation service (SOS) is used for this purpose. The main benefit of SOS is that it connects together different types of sensors. Proposed CAAO framework provides ample of opportunities for further development and makes the system a hub of agricultural services. The mix of web mash-up and ubiquitous computing can enrich the framework and provide an up to date and on demand services. Current version of the CAAO is limited to cotton crop and it does not yet establish physical connection with the sensors. The next steps in the development are to establish connection to sensor networks and to test the CAAO in a real world context.

Challenges facing sub-Saharan small-scale farmers in accessing farming information through mobile phones: A systematic literature review

The use of mobile phone technology has increasingly been advocated to assist small‐scale farmers. Accordingly, numerous studies have been conducted on the impact, effectiveness, users attitude, assessment, empowerment, and the potential use of mobile phone technology in agriculture. This study explores the challenges that small‐scale farmers in sub‐Saharan Africa face when using a mobile phone technology in crop farming projects and proposes areas for future improvement. The study used a systematic literature search conducted by authors at 3 levels, in which 134 studies initially identified were then narrowed to 11. These 11 studies generated 7 projects that use specialized applications in a farming value chain. The findings from the study indicate some of the challenges faced by small‐scale farmers, including the lack of their involvement in the initial phase of the invention process. Other obstacles include low trust and transparency, inappropriate use of foreign language (English) in a local cultural context, bureaucracy, and theft of mobile phones. On the basis of these results, the authors conclude that there are generalized factors for understanding deficiencies experienced by small‐scale farmers, which ought to be understood by all crop farming stakeholders. These factors can be used by software engineers to design future technologies beneficial to small‐scale farmers.