 |
VASAT's experiments in ICT mediated Agricultural Extension
WEST CENTRAL AFRICA Nigerian Leaders study VASAT-WCA |
|
|
A high level delegation from Nigeria visited the ICRISAT Sahelian centerin early 2005 to know how VASAT WCA is helpful in information empowerment. The group comprised of a representative from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Moh Magaji Ibrahim, two Directors and their senior staff : IAR ( Dr Shehu G. Ado) and Lake Chad Research Institute (Dr William B. Ndahi)and Mr E.A. Sarki (Minister) representing the Nigerian Ambassador to Niger.
Dr Bruno Gerard presented VASAT-WCA to the delegation. Then,accompanied by Dr. Saidou Koala, Head, ICRISAT – Sahel and other scientists, they visited the pilot station in Kahé. The delegation discussed issues with Kahe radio staff in the local Haoussa language. Using community radios as a means of technology transfer was an idea well appreciated by the Nigerian delegation. |
||
|
VASAT (Virtual Academy for the Semi-Arid Tropics) works in West and Central Africa in partnership with the DMP to combat drought and desertification by using communication strategies to help farmers prepare for drought. DMP operates in three sub-Saharan regions: eastern Africa (Kenya), western Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Senegal) and southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe).
DMP’s mission is to enhance food security and reduce poverty in the desert margins of sub-Saharan Africa by promoting innovative and action-oriented dryland management research to arrest land degradation.
DMP was born out of an international commitment to contribute to the efforts of the Convention to Combat Drought and to help the people living in the desertification-prone areas attain sustainable livelihoods. The program was conceived as part of an eco-regional initiative, which allowed it to combine physical, biological, economic and sociological dimensions of the production environment.
All along its long planning phase and its implementation, special care has been taken to consult closely all the stakeholders of this initiative and to integrate upfront the perspectives of the national agricultural research systems (NARS) and NGOs and the needs of the local communities. |
||
|
Rural radio Kahé located 20 km away from Niamey, where ICRISAT center is located, is attracting the contribution of many partners due to its strategic location. Kahé. SNV (Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV) or Foundation of Netherlands Volunteers ) promoted the installation of the radio equipment and trained the radio staff. SNV is also an important partner of VASAT in content development. Care International studied the implication of radio Kahe for women’s development has put in place a credit system for women. UNDP has installed the radio and contributed to its sustainability by initiating income-generating activities among the rural communities.
|
||
|
The third general assembly of the Forum of Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) was held between 6-12 June, at Entebbe in Uganda. FARA is an umbrella organization bringing together and forming coalitions of major stakeholders in agricultural research and development in Africa.
At this event the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) held a side event, where ICRISAT’s Western Regional Director Dr. Saidou Koala made a presentation on VASAT. The COL considers VASAT as an active and on-going ICT project both in South Asia and West and Central Africa. COL has been a strong supporter of VASAT since its inception. |
||
|
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS-NET) in Niger, there is a very severe food security crisis in some pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of northern Maradi, Tillabery, Zinder, and Tahoua departments. The causes of this crisis are: an early end of rains in 2004, locust damage to pasture lands, high malnutrition rates and high food prices.
The April 2005 joint food security assessment by the Government of Niger, FAO, WFP and FEWS estimated that 2.4 million of the 3.6 million people living in agropastoral areas were highly vulnerable to food insecurity. The latest estimate is that 874,000 persons face extreme food insecurity conditions and need free food.
Some press reports indicate that from 150,000 infants to 3.5 million people are threatened by starvation in Niger. However, a more likely outcome is that a large proportion of children will die from non-food causes of malnutrition, poor water quality, and other non-food related problems.
This food crisis is not just a temporary emergency. It is the predictable and inevitable result of inadequately-addressed chronic poverty in the world's second poorest country. Although the current willingness of many NGOs and governments to address these conditions in Niger is appropriate and welcome, without prolonged attention to addressing the chronic issues at the heart of the current crisis, the same problem will re-occur again.
VASAT Africa is geared towards mitigating the long term causes of this type of crisis. It will help communites be better prepared to face a crisis such as this, by being a repository and disseminator of information. Through rural radios VASAT will provide early warning of signs of drought and share information among a larger group of people than would normally be reached.
|
||