Posted 15 April 1999
Prepared by Silvia Balit, Consultant, ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security
and Wendy Truelove, Consultant, WAICENT/FAO
This article has been based on resource materials which are listed in the Resources section.
Communication can play a key role in promoting rural development and food security in today's climate of social and economic change. Investment in scientific and material inputs will not bear fruit without a parallel investment in "human capital"- informing people, opening a dialogue to reach consensus for action, and developing the knowledge and skills needed to put material investments to the best use. As societies move towards greater democracy, decentralization and market economies, conditions are improving for people to direct their own courses of change. Communication can stimulate people's awareness, give a voice to those involved and increase their participation in decision-making and development activities. Communication media and techniques can help overcome barriers of literacy, language, cultural differences and physical isolation. They are powerful tools to share information and knowledge and increase rural people's capabilities.
We live in an "information age" characterized by the global reach of mass media and by electronic information superhighways. This age offers unprecedented opportunities for communication, and accessing, storing, retrieving and transmitting information. At the same time, there is concern that the gap between the information-rich and the information-poor is getting wider. Remote, rural communities are still difficult to reach because they lack communication infrastructure, such as telephones, newspapers, television and radios. The challenge for rural areas is not only to increase the quantity and accessibility of communication technologies but also to improve the relevance of the information to local development. The communication technologies and know-how exist; the challenge is to use them effectively for rural development and improved food security.
The Internet, one of the latest information and communication technologies (ICTs), represents the largest computer network in the world. Unlike other media with a global reach, the Internet allows every user the potential to be a sender, receiver, broadcaster and "narrowcaster". Today, the Internet is a global "people's network" for communicating and sharing information. It is used by an increasing number of people to converse, debate, meet, teach, learn, buy and sell and exchange virtually every type of information imaginable.
The success of the Internet in developed countries strongly suggests it has great potential for development purposes. Employing the Internet for rural development has the potential to:
Although the Internet offers great potential, it is important to remember that in reality many developing countries do not have the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for widespread access to the Internet. In such cases, the costs associated with installing and using the equipment necessary for accessing the Internet may render this option unfeasible. Further, enthusiasm for this new technology should be balanced with a consideration of its appropriateness. The selection of communication technology should be based on its effectiveness for communicating a message, and not because of a bias for a particular medium. Traditional media, such as rural radio, video, slidesets, flip charts and folk media still have important roles to play in the sharing of information and communication, and in some situations they may be the most appropriate and effective choice.
A number of UN agencies and development partners are experimenting with new information technologies and communication networks for rural development, concentrating on how to make them more accessible to rural populations.
In Chile and in Mexico, FAO projects have applied computer technology to establish information networks for agricultural producers and farmers' associations. The networks have provided essential data on topics such as crops, markets, prices, weather, social services and credit facilities. Messages have been generated, processed and transmitted through low-cost computers via the Internet and delivered to information centres in farmers' organizations, cooperatives and town councils which were equipped with computers, modems and printers. The process started with an assessment of local knowledge and the information needs of farmers and their associations, and local staff was trained in the use of the equipment and organisation of the network. The information centres distributed the information received via Internet to individual farmers and their associations according to the local conditions and facilities available. For example, printed materials were used if access to Internet was not possible.
This experience confirmed that new information technology and the use of electronic information networks can be successfully applied in the rural areas of developing countries provided that:
Multi-purpose community telecentres (MCTs) are another approach being used by development agencies to extend access to the Internet and bring it closer to rural communities and the intermediary organizations that provide services to those communities.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in collaboration with international partners (e.g. CIDA, DANIDA, FAO, IDRC, UNESCO, WHO), national organizations, NGOs and (in some cases) the private sector, is assessing - or has operationalized - a number of telecentre pilot projects in countries, including Benin, Bhutan, Haiti, Honduras, India, the Maldives, Mali, Mozambique, Romania, Surinam, Tanzania, Uganda and Viet Nam.
Telecentres are shared information and communication facilities and are a relatively recent phenomenon, with the first ones appearing in Europe in the 1980s. Depending on local needs, they may offer services such as the use of telephones, fax machines and the Internet as well as provide access to a variety of equipment, such as cassette and video players, photocopiers and computers.
Telecentres can provide communities with knowledge and information from external sources, which can be integrated with local knowledge. For example, a telecentre could be used by a local health organization to collect information and develop materials to enhance their public awareness programmes or it could be used by an educational institution to access distance learning materials to supplement the courses offered locally.
Telecentres are not just facilities for delivering information to the community. They can be used by communities to create, compile and share their information with outside audiences. For example, locally developed solutions for particular agricultural problems can be announced and shared with other communities with similar problems and biophysical conditions.
Linking telecentre facilities with other media can increase the local impact of the telecentre. For example, by using information collected via the Internet in local radio programming, audiences that are unable to visit the telecentre can still benefit from the services it offers.
There are no simple prescriptions for selecting or applying media for effective communication in development. The Internet offers a number of advantages for information sharing and communicating, but using this technology requires specific infrastructure that is currently unavailable in many areas of developing countries. In these areas, the use of the Internet may be costly and inappropriate.
Electronic information systems have successfully been applied to provide farmers with vital knowledge and information. Telecentres are another approach being used by development organizations to improve access to the Internet and other ICTs in rural communities. They facilitate access to information from external sources, allow the sharing of local information with outside audiences and can be combined with other media to extend the impact of the telecentre.
Whether rural villages are connected to the outside world by the Internet, or they learn about health care through folk proverbs, the effectiveness of the processes of communication will determine the impact of development activities. The needs of rural communities should be considered, then the most appropriate media to meet these needs should be selected.
Thematic Groups and members of the Network interested in more information on the use of new information and communication technologies may wish to contact the following initiatives.
The Global Knowledge Partnership is an evolving, informal partnership of organizations - public, private and non-profit - committed to sharing information, experiences and resources to promote broad access to, and effective use of, knowledge and information as tools of sustainable, equitable development. It emerged from the cooperation of several dozen organizations who sponsored the Global Knowledge 97 conference, "Knowledge for Development in the Information Age" (Toronto, Canada, June 1997). The work of the Global Knowledge Partnership is coordinated by a small secretariat located at the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank.
Global Knowledge Partnership Secretariat
Economic Development Institute of the World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W., Room G4-102
Washington, DC 20433
Tel: (202) 473-6442 Fax: (202) 676-0858
E-mail: globalknowledge@worldbank.org
The Bellanet Initiative, launched in 1995, is a four-year pilot project designed to use ICTs to implement "a global forum for sustainable development research and capacity development." Most of Bellanet's activities are collaborative initiatives - inter-agency partnerships supported by Bellanet, which seek to address an identified need for improved information sharing, learning, transparency, or stakeholder participation. The Bellanet Initiative is administered through a small secretariat housed at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada.
David Balson, Executive Director
Bellanet International Secretariat
c/o IDRC
PO Box 8500
Ottawa, ON K1G 3H9 Canada
Tel: (613) 236 6163 x 2436 Fax: (613) 238 7230
Email: dbalson@bellanet.org
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Loy Van Crowder
Communication for Development Group (SDRE)
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Tel: 39 06 57053445
Email: loyvan.crowder@fao.org
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Guy Girardet
ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU/BDT)
Place des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Tel: 41 22 730 5111 Fax: 41 22 733 7256
Email: Guy.Girardet@itu.int
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Hans D'Orville
Director, IT for Development Programme
Bureau for Development Policy
UNDP
One United Nations Plaza, Room 2092
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 906 3687 Fax: (212) 906 5023
Email: dorville@undp.org
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
John Rose
Programme Specialist, Information and Informatics Division
UNESCO
7, Place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris,07SP France
Tel: (33 1) 456 84529 Fax: (33 1) 456 85583
Email: j.rose@unesco.org
World Bank
Larry Forgy
Work Program Administrator, infoDev Program
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433 USA
Tel: 202-458-5153 Fax: 202-522-3186
E-mail: lforgy@worldbank.org