Information is a key component in improving smallholder agricultural production and linkages to remunerative markets, thus improve rural livelihoods, food security and national economies. The dynamics of using phones among farmers linking them to market outlets and other service providers are discussed. . The paper isolate strength, weakness and threats while analysing insights associated with results patterns. The findings showed that rural communities appreciated the use of phone as easy, fast and convenient way to communicate. Phone usage was accompanied by positive outcomes and opened opportunities like strong collective action among social groups for effective natural resource management
Tag: access to information
Bridging science and policy for effective REDD+ implementation: Multilevel dialogues and collaborative platforms in Indonesia
Key messages
- A science–policy dialogue platform fosters collaboration among scientists, policymakers and practitioners, promoting knowledge sharing and evidence-based policymaking to enhance effective REDD+ implementation.
- While promoting inclusive stakeholder engagement and context-specific policymaking, science–policy dialogues foster trust, alignment and informed decision making on REDD+ safeguards, benefit sharing and governance.
- Accessible research helps policymakers and subnational governments to apply REDD+ effectively and to close knowledge gaps. Continuous knowledge production and the translation of knowledge into policies and practices are essential.
- The science–policy dialogue is vital to achieving concrete action and implementation. After the dialogue, key relevant stakeholders recommended that CIFOR strengthen engagement with national decision makers to ensure that the scientific outputs inform policy.
Mengkaji dukungan terhadap hak-hak Masyarakat Adat dan masyarakat lokal dalam konteks REDD+ di Indonesia
Ringkasan
- Brosur ini menyajikan temuan-temuan penelitian hasil kajian dari sepuluh kriteria yang mendukung hak-hak Masyarakat Adat dan masyarakat lokal (Indigenous Peoples and local communities/IPLC) dalam konteks REDD+ di Indonesia.
- Indonesia telah terlibat dalam REDD+ sejak awal dan telah mengembangkan berbagai instrumen untuk mendukung implementasi REDD+, termasuk sistem informasi safeguards (SIS) yang mencakup safeguards sosial yang mengakui hak-hak IPLC.
- Hak-hak IPLC telah disebutkan sedikit demi sedikit dalam peraturan-peraturan pelaksanaan yang berbeda, misalnya, aspek persetujuan atas dasar informasi awal tanpa paksaan ada dalam peraturan terkait akses ke informasi atau perlindungan hak asasi manusia. Sebaliknya, hak-hak atas tanah dan tenurial hutan jauh lebih komprehensif, misalnya melalui skema-skema program Perhutanan Sosial.
- Pelaksanaan safeguard untuk REDD+ dan inisiatif berbasis hutan lainnya harus melibatkan masyarakat adat dan menghormati hak-hak, pengetahuan, dan partisipasi mereka, seperti yang telah ditekankan dalam kontribusi yang ditetapkan secara nasional (Nationally Determined Contribution/NDC) terbaru di Indonesia.
Who communicates the information matters for technology adoption
The role of information in agricultural technology adoption in developing countries has been widely documented in the literature, but much less is known about the importance of the identity of the communicator of the information. We conduct a randomized experiment to assess the effects of information delivered through two approaches wherein either a peer farmer or a market actor supports the extension worker in communicating the standardized information regarding product-quality-enhancing practices and high-value market participation. Results show that farmers in the peer-farmer treatment arm improve the quality of their produce, whereas farmers in the market actor treatment participate in high-value markets to a larger extent than the extension-worker-only treatment farmers. We document positive but marginal treatment effects on coffee revenues. This study contributes to the literature by testing whether incorporating non-traditional communicators, such as private sector actors, into the extension programs is effective in removing the informational barriers to agricultural technology adoption.
Africa Tree Finder
This easy-to-use App shows you data on the distribution of indigenous tree species in different natural vegetation types, combined with information on the products and services that the tree species can provide. It arms you – local community members, government agencies, private sector owners, and other land managers – with the information you need to select the best tree species for your landscape restoration or agroforestry effort.
Applying Human-centered Design Methods in User Co-design of Decision Dashboards in IFAD ASAP Projects
This project has tailored a method of co-design from its initiation, lead by project staff and linked stakeholders in each country. The project facilitates stakeholder- and user-centered design of a ‘decision dashboard’ as a central location to view and interact with key information and data. The aim of the dashboard is to allow for the integration of evidence into decision-making processes at several scales, to assist in baseline assessments, targeting of interventions and monitoring of changes over time.
An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana
Background: The rapid growth of mobile phones in Ghana has opened up the possibility of delivering timely and useful weather and market information to farmers at costs lower than traditional agricultural extension services. In this paper, we assess the usefulness, constraints, and factors likely to influence farmers’ decisions to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Methods: We rely on primary data from 310 farmers in the Upper West Region, an understudied part of Ghana. We subject the data to three types of analysis. First, we model farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information by estimating a binary logit model. Second, we use descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing to analyse the level of usefulness of mobile phone-based weather and market information. We disaggregate the analysis by sex, income status, and age group. Finally, we use qualitative analysis to summarize the constraints associated with the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. Results: We find that contact with agricultural extension agents and farmer-to-farmer extension services significantly influences farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Regardless of sex, income status, and age group, farmers generally rate mobile phone-based weather and market information as very useful. We identify inexact information, complex text messages, information that are too costly to implement, and poor infrastructure as the constraints to the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. Conclusion: In order to improve the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information, disseminators of mobile phone-based information such as Esoko should constantly update and provide client-specific information. Improvements in mobile phone networks and related services will enhance the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. © 2017 The Author(s).
Mapping the information landscape of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Strategy
The strategy of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration identifies three pathways for action for overcoming six global barriers thought to hamper upscaling. We evaluated 6,023 peer-reviewed and gray literature papers published over the last two decades to map the information landscape underlying the barriers and associated pathways for action across world regions, terrestrial ecosystem types, restorative interventions and their outcomes. Overall, the literature addressed more the financial and legislative barriers than the technical and research-related ones, supporting the view that social, economic and political factors hamper scaling up ecosystem restoration. Latin America, Africa, and North America were the most prominent regions in the literature, yet differed in the number of publications addressing each barrier. An overwhelming number of publications focused on forests (78%), while grasslands (6%), drylands (3%), and mangroves (2%) received less attention. Across the three pathways for action, the action lines on (1) promoting long-term ecosystem restoration actions and monitoring and (2) education on restoration were the most underrepresented in the literature. In general, restorative interventions assessed rendered positive outcomes except those of a political, legislative or financial nature which reported negative or inconclusive outcomes. Our indicative assessment reveals critical information gaps on barriers, pathways, and types of restorative interventions across world regions, particularly related to specific social issues such as education for ecosystem restoration. Finally, we call for refining “strength of evidence” assessment frameworks that can systematically appraise, synthesize and integrate information on traditional and practitioner knowledge as two essential components for improving decision-making in ecosystem restoration.
Co-producing theory of change to operationalize integrated landscape approaches
Integrated landscape approaches that engage diverse stakeholder groups in landscape governance are increasingly promoted to address linked social–ecological challenges in tropical landscapes. Recent research suggests that a transdisciplinary approach to landscape management can help identify common research needs, enhance knowledge co-production, guide evidence-based policy development, and harmonize cross-sectorial integration. Meanwhile, guiding principles for landscape approaches suggest that identifying common concerns and negotiating a process of change are fundamental to implementation and evaluation efforts. As such, the use of decision support tools such as theory of change models that build ordered sequences of actions towards a desired, and agreed, future state are increasingly advocated. However, the application of the theory of change concept to integrated landscape approaches is limited thus far, particularly within the scientific literature. Here, we address this gap by applying the principles of landscape approaches and knowledge co-production to co-produce a theory of change to address current unsustainable landscape management and associated conflicts in the Kalomo Hills Local Forest Reserve No. P.13 (KFR13) of Zambia. The participatory process engaged a diverse range of stakeholders including village head people, local and international researchers, district councillors, and civil society representatives amongst others. Several pathways, actions, and interventions were developed around the themes of deforestation, biodiversity and wildlife conservation, socio-economic development, access rights, and law enforcement. To make the theory of change actionable, participants identified a need for enhanced cross-sector and multi-level communication, capacity development, and improved governance, while a lack of commitment towards coordinated knowledge exchange and access to information along with poor policy formulation and weak enforcement of rules were among potential impediments to action. Use of theory of change can both inform evidence-based policy design (by revealing place-based challenges and proposing solutions) and support policy mechanisms that promote integration between state and non-state actors (by clarifying actor rights, roles and responsibilities). Co-developing a theory of change for integrated landscape management is inherently context specific, but the process and outcomes of this study should hold relevance across a range of contexts faced with sustainability challenges related to reconciling both conservation and development objectives.
Examining support for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the context of REDD+ in Indonesia
Summary
- This flyer presents findings on research examining ten criteria regarding the level of support for Indigenous People and local community (IPLC) rights in the context of REDD+ in Indonesia.
- Indonesia has been involved in REDD+ from the outset and has developed various instruments to support its implementation, including a safeguards information system (SIS) that includes social safeguards recognizing the rights of IPLCs.
- IPLC rights are mentioned in different implementing regulations in piecemeal fashion, e.g., aspects of free, prior and informed consent in regulations on access to information or protection of human rights. In contrast, rights to land and forest tenure are much more comprehensive, e.g., through schemes under the Social Forestry programme.
- The implementation of safeguards for REDD+ and other forest-based initiatives must engage customary (adat) communities and respect their rights, knowledge and participation, as highlighted in Indonesia’s updated nationally determined contribution (NDC).