POLICY POINTERS Using information and communication technology to strengthen agricultural value chains in the Caribbean Agricultural value chains in the Caribbean need to be better organised and strengthened to help the region reduce food losses and imports. But agricultural market chains in the region are commonly constrained by poor exchange and accessibility of information. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer solutions to these constraints. The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), recently completed a report on the uptake and use of ICTs in the roots and tubers and small ruminants value chains in the Caribbean.1
KEY POINTS • Increase awareness of the benefits of ICTs to the agriculture sector and build capacities at all levels, including farmers and producers. • Build agricultural e-services that deliver information such as on land issues, special incentives and rebates and those that offer agri-business support. • Support the development of online trade to facilitate links between producers, markets and consumers. • Support greater involvement of young people in the sector to contribute to its modernisation, in particular through use of ICTs. • Enhance use of ICTs in extension services. • Promote the development of e-agriculture strategies. • Improve regional coordination and harmonisation of efforts supporting ICT in agriculture. • Modernise ICT infrastructure. These ‘key points’ were identified in collaboration with regional stakeholders.
Based on the report produced by CARDI with support from CTA
“There is little usage of ICTs in the roots and tubers and small ruminants value chains”
The report covers investigations conducted in 2013 in five countries – Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago – and a desk study on ICT use at the regional level. The report also includes: an ICT Directory of 50 regional case studies (applications or other ICT platforms); several project ideas, mainly proposed by stakeholders who gathered in 2013 to validate the study findings; and an e-agriculture readiness analysis, which assesses how ready the five target countries are to fully adopt ICTs in agriculture. The study is part of a wider effort by CTA to support the strengthening of agricultural value chains, notably by increasing ICT use.
The Caribbean has some of the highest mobile service penetration rates in the world. According to International Telecommunication Union data, in 2011 some Caribbean states had mobile phone subscription rates close to 166% (more than one phone connection per person), compared with 128% in Europe, 104% in the USA and 76% in China. Some farmers even have smart phones.
MAIN FINDINGS • Weak integration of ICTs in roots and tubers and small-ruminant value chains: There is little usage of ICTs in the roots and tubers and small ruminants value chains. This may be because these value chains primarily involve smallholder famers producing for their own or local consumption. ICT usage is stronger, although still weak, in value chains for international export commodities and in the hospitality industry (use of procurement management systems, inventory management software, etc.). However, it has also been observed that many ICTs are not commodity specific. At the production level, the main ICTs used are mobile applications employed by extension services. Institutions such as the Rural Agricultural Development Agency in Jamaica and the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation in Trinidad and Tobago are working in this area. In the marketing/trade segment, the public sector is also using mobile phones to disseminate price and other market information. However, such services are facing a number of challenges for scale-up, including how to pay the telecom costs in the long term. Advocacy for these services to be considered as public goods has yet to bear fruit. • Increasing experimentation with ICTs and mobile applications: Despite current weaknesses, use of ICTs in agriculture is increasing. Agricultural institutions are improving their websites, moving beyond providing mere administrative information. Cooperatives and other agricultural stakeholders (such as the Trinidad and Tobago Agri-Business Association and the Caribbean Poultry Association) are using Facebook, YouTube and blogs. Mobile applications are being used for fisheries (mFisheries) and livestock. E-commerce platforms such as TTGrocery.com, Trini Trolley and D Market Movers are connecting consumers with markets in Trinidad and Tobago. Extension workers and input suppliers are using message applications (e.g. WhatsApp and BlackBerry Messenger) to connect with peers. These are just some examples of innovative ICT use in the Caribbean.
• Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica lead ICT usage in agriculture ICT usage in the value chains studied is most pervasive in Trinidad and Tobago, where end users have widespread access to affordable mobile and broadband internet. Several ICT-based services have been developed specifically for the agro-food sector. What the country lacks, however, is appropriate governance structures that allow the services to drive greater value in the value chains and hence boost usage of the agro-food-sector ICT services available. Jamaica had the second highest usage of ICTs in the agro-food sector. Like Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica has a number of ICT-enabled services developed specifically for the sector. Jamaica has also implemented governance frameworks that facilitate information gathering and dissemination. However, producers still lack the ability to access the services that are currently in place.
“Despite current weaknesses, use of ICTs in agriculture is increasing” ICT usage in Barbados is somewhat comparable with that in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Value-chain stakeholders are taking advantage of the nation’s connectivity infrastructure, personal devices and software to benefit their activities. Unlike Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, however, Barbados does not have substantial ICT-enabled services specifically for the agro-food sector. Guyana has developed some ICT services for the agriculture sector, but uptake and usage are limited by the weakness of infrastructure. Because of its relatively large landmass, connectivity infrastructure is more limited and many producers cannot afford the cost of access. Guyanese input suppliers, however, especially in the public sector, have taken advantage of the mobile technologies available, maximising use of the devices and connectivity available. St Kitts and Nevis has the lowest ICT usage of the study countries. Apart from the Ministry of Agriculture’s website, no ICT services specifically for the agro-food sector have been identified. Producers and other value-chain stakeholders make little use of ICTs in support of their activities.
ABOUT THIS POLICY POINTER
ABOUT CTA
This policy pointer was prepared by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) as a contribution to policy discussions at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2014. The aim is to highlight policy actions needed to encourage and support uptake of findings of work supported by CTA and its partners.
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). Its mission is to advance food and nutritional security, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resource management in ACP countries. It provides access to information and knowledge, facilitates policy dialogue and strengthens the capacity of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities.
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Notes 1 INFOCOOM Technologies Ltd. 2014. Regional synthesis of ICTs uptake and usage in agricultural value chains in the Caribbean. St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute and Wageningen, The Netherlands, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation.
Download the report here: CTA website: www.cta.int/ICT_uptake_in_the_Caribbean CARDI website: www.cardi.org