Future Perfect

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ustainable

agriculture

wildlife

food

security

consumption

and

production

patterns

Biovision was declared by the Agricultural Information Resource

Centre of Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture to be one of the ‘must

haves’ in an essential information kit for extension officers. This

approach helps improve extension service delivery by equipping

farmers with competencies to demonstrate and teach other farmers.

We can only arrive at a truly integrated sustainable agricultural

development if we share knowledge and experiences, and encourage

the formation of measures and policies supplemented by interna-

tional policies to promote ecological organic agriculture.

A two-way communication

Throughout its implementation, the FCP has ensured that there is

an interactive two-way communication mechanism to capture end-

user feedback. The Farmer Communication Programme is now being

optimized by using an integrated User Response System (URS). The

URS will further contribute to refining existing content as well as

developing new content on sustainable agriculture. It will focus on the

communication activities with SMS and applications for smartphones

to complement other channels. To make use of new opportunities

arising with the spreading of smartphones, an Android application is

currently being developed. The application will allow users to browse

information on ecological organic agriculture, based on Infonet-

Biovision. Moreover, a survey function will be created to enable the

FCP to collect data, manage, and publish findings as needed.

Benefits in the field

The benefits of the programme to people in the field are well

known. Various stories from the field show that access to infor-

mation can actually improve livelihoods. For example, Ibrahim

Wakayula of Kimilili region in Western Kenya read about opportu-

nities for sustainable chicken breeding in an article in The Organic

Farmer magazine in 2007. Convinced of this idea, he started breed-

ing chickens, a practice that is less common in his area. Thanks

to complementary information he retrieved in the magazine, his

endeavours met with great success. Ibrahim was able

to earn a better living, which he used in turn to plant

another field of Maniok. This allowed him and his

family to earn a decent living and have access to enough

healthy food.

Another success story is from the Kimutwa area in

Machakos where women, who initially did not prac-

tise farming due to lack of relevant information, joined

together to form a group – a precondition for getting

trainings from FCP information officer, Ruth. A recent

visit to the group by a Biovision delegate was filled with

testimonies from the women on how well their farming

is doing, thanks to the training programme conducted

by Ruth. They engaged in different activities such as

chicken rearing, vegetable growing and tree nursery

cultivation, among others. Armed with information

from Infonet-Biovision, Ruth is able to meet all their

information needs.

These and other experiences show that by using

state-of-the-art ICT and tested community learning

structures, the Biovision FCP provides a great opportu-

nity for national development. Its efforts can be scaled

up and replicated to cover East Africa and beyond.

The Biovision FCP aims to strengthen farmers’ access

to information on sustainable, eco-friendly agricul-

tural practices through multimedia. This will enhance

innovation uptake and consequently contribute to

improved food security, reduced poverty, better quality

food, a stable environment and national development.

With a rigorous monitoring and feedback system, the

programme will enhance the relevance of agricultural

research, increase its own responsiveness to farmers’

informational needs and create synergies with other

partners to scale up programme activities.

The programme supports small-scale farmers and their families to grow enough healthy food