Pan-Caribbean CodeSprint : Development and Open Data

Competitive pressure could enable a culture of innovation that drives economic growth in the Caribbean, a region with debt profiles akin to Southern Europe’s. St. Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and Barbados are among the 10 most indebted countries, as per Debt to GDP ratios. But tiny populations and relatively cash rich sectors such as tourism and mining, which are controlled by a few, puts all Caribbean countries, with the exception of two (Haiti and Guyana), into the middle and high income brackets.This broad economic tag renders these mostly fragile and heavily indebted economies ineligible for some kinds of multilateral and bilateral support, such as concessional financing and debt relief, given to other poor countries with similar socio-economic dynamics.However, the region is increasingly pinning its economic fortunes on the potent mixture of its cultural stock, tech capacity and youth. So committed to this process are some stakeholders that in 2010 Jamaica’s Ministry of Agriculture collaborated with the Kingston-based Mona School of Business (MSB)at the University of the West Indies (UWI) to make better use of agriculture data.MSB, already a stakeholder in the IDRC’s# Caribbean Open Institute, didn’t just go the route of traditional business intelligence analysis, it worked with the Ministry to mobilize an open data initiative that would maximize mileage from the data through the creation of value-added software apps and enabling the innovation process through public access to the data.

Four screen shots from a mobile application for farmers

Photo credit: AgroAssist

One outcome is the AgroAssistant, a mobile app built on the Android platform. This recently piloted app will aid Rural Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) Field Officers to remotely access farmer and farm information as well as identify crop production figures and prices islandwide. So significant is the potential for the app to be used to sort copious data into meaningful bits, that Matthew McNaughton(@mamcnaughton), one of the developers, says the depth of information collected about farmers, their output trends and profiles, could revolutionize the way local banks assess the credit risk of small farmers. This is arguable a watershed moment for many engaged in the business of microcredit for agriculture, as established assets-based methods of denoting credit worthiness impedes access to capital for expansion in a region where the average farmer is on the cusp of retirement (age 45) with few assets, if any, that they can afford to risk.

The wave of enthusiasm surrounding the initial agriculture open data initiative led to the formation of SlashRoots, a pan-Caribbean developer conference and community. Though launched just last February, SlashRoots(@slash_roots) is now a leader in the Caribbean’s ICT4D and Open Data for regional development space. SlashRoots’ iconic status isn’t by chance, according to the convenors, the name is a product of the merger of two powerful tech products with a cultural twist: Slash is taken from the once premier web hub for tech savvy folks, SlashDot; and Roots doubles in honour of the super user folder on a Linux machine and a contemporary Caribbean cultural expression of pride.

At inception, SlashRoots, in collaboration with MSB and support from IDRC, held a wildly successful conference that attracted nearly 450 persons and 45 developers from across the region—even John Wonderlich of the DC-based Sunlight Foundation, a tech gov watchdog, was in attendance.

The MSB agriculture initiative is only one of several IDRC-funded projects in the Caribbean Open Institute Initiative. Others include mFisheries in Trinidad and Tobago, which is being implemented by Caribbean ICT Research Programme at the Department of Engineering, UWI St Augustine, and the technology policy work of Fundacion Taiguey in the Domincan Republic. But the region’s open data for development thrust doesn’t end there, on January 26-27, the administrators of these three projects will host the Caribbean Open Data Conference dubbed “Developing Caribbean”.

The website describes the event as “the first regional Conference and Software Developer Competition of its kind, focused on Open Data and Social development. It uniquely combines a conference with the thrill [and competitive nature of] a code sprint, with the social objectives of government, NGOs and Civil Society”. The “Developing Caribbean” event is apart of a larger open data movement in Latin America, which also included the inaugural Developing Latin America event organized by Ciudadano Inteligente, an technology NGO in Chile, on December 3rd and 4th of last year.

The Conference and Codesprint will span three countries (Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago), with virtual sites for developers recently added in Barbados, Belize, Cuba and Guyana. Over the two days teams of developers will be building apps to solve prominent social problems in the areas of Agriculture & Fisheries, Regional Trade and Tourism. The ideas for the apps are being crowdsourced by the organizers from practitioners, NGO, government and other stakeholders to culminate with a potent combination of social expertise and technical wizardy over the two days of the conference.

Follow @DevCaribbean for details about the conference and the emerging Caribbean open data policy framework.

January 26, 2012/by actualize

Climate Change, Environment, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

When Drumbeats Change, Dancing Steps Must Change!

Photo Credit: Drum Beat

An interesting principle being used by smallholder farmers in Nigeria (particularly female farmers) to fight the global climate change within their own means is a Hausa proverb, “In Kidi ya Chanza”, which means “when the drumbeats change, the dancers have to change their steps.”

“Change In Drum Beats” – Climate Change

While farming remains a predominant occupation for the rural people of Northern Nigeria, the increasing effects of climate change is being felt in almost all areas of their farming activities. The land is becoming drier due to shorter and unpredictable rainfalls; increasing flooding resulting in crop destruction when the rains finally come; the quality and quantity of forage of the livestock is being affected; and the changes in temperature is directly affecting both crops and livestock. At the same time, the strength of their local knowledge, innovations, skills, experiences, observations and insights that used to help them overcome these challenges in the absence of scientific resources is becoming archaic, due to the same effect of climate change.

“Change In Dancing” – Information Communication Technologies

Over time, the change in ‘drum beat’ has been noticed by the local people. With support from the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa Program; the African Radio Drama Association (ARDA) in partnership with Farm Radio International and the University of Guelph, initiated a project that uses “edutainment” approach of combining entertainment with educational messages for climate change. The project has developed this special “In Kidi ya Chanza” Radio Drama Program aimed at raising awareness and providing information to smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria about climate change adaptation. Currently, there are a number episodes of drama with specific focuses that are airing weekly on several radio stations and broadcast to an estimated 20 million listeners in four northern Nigerian states targeted by the project.

The drama involves music and storytelling, which can both entertain and educate. They imitate real life and can be a vehicle for demonstrating actions to highlight comparisons and consequences. Through multi-dimensional characters, drama can credibly portray models of responsibility, community leadership, and self-efficacy, and at the same time present new social norms to drive behavior change. Episodes also encourage household discussions of otherwise difficult topics, and encourage the audience to be part of the whole process of change without being bombarded with too many messages. The listener would usually empathize with the characters and would not feel talked down to, as useful information is given out by characters they grow to love in the course of the drama.

The impact of the program is huge with a recent study conducted by the University of Guelph showing that about 78% of respondents were familiar with the radio drama; 84% of female and 68% of male listeners stated the program increased their awareness of climate change adaptation; and the vast majority (92.8%) of respondents who gained awareness from the program reported that they took action.

Photo Credit: Radio for Development

In Nigeria and other parts of Africa, radio remains an important and trusted medium for the majorities of smallholder farmers who have easy access and regularly listen to programs. Apart from being affordable, radio is appropriate because it does not necessarily rely on electrical power to operate, making it highly accessible medium. Over 85% of Nigerians have access to a radio set, making radio an effective medium for the broadcast of this series of programs.

November 17, 2011/by actualize