ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

Project 10
The Virtual Academy for the African and Asian SAT
Output A: ICT-mediated knowledge sharing strategy developed and implemented with partners and online,
web-based repository of learning materials designed and developed in the public domain by 2009
Progress towards outputs in 2006:
First draft strategy document prepared. The document proposes an online grid of agricultural education and
extension materials covering multiple institutions. This has been further refined through discussions with NARES
partners, the Commonwealth of Learning and the University of Florida.
A Strategy document titled “Project AGRID: Establishment of an Agricultural Knowledge Grid to Support
Improved Food and Livelihood Security for Farmers in SAT” has been developed and shared with partners and
investors.
Approach paper for development of a strategy for the
Establishment of an Online Agricultural Knowledge Grid to Support Improved Food, Income and Livelihood
Security for Farmers in SAT
In two roundtable consultations organized in February and June 2006 (at ICRISAT, supported by the COL,
one attended by the President of COL, Sir John Daniel), a group Vice Chancellors, deans/directors and senior
professors from the Indian Institutes of Technology and institutes of higher education in IT agreed that there
was a need to form a grid of e-content in agriculture and allied sectors. The grid should be designed such that
it serves the content needs of a wide range of stakeholders and should provide learning support to a variety of
learners. This is called AGRID. The core technological aspects of the proposed grid, which is a grid of
information and learning portals from various organizations have been described by Srivathsan et al. (2004)
and these form the initial specifications.
The AGRID will be implemented by a Consortium of partners who will willingly join it and sustain it. The goal
of the AGRID consortium is to contribute to improvements in the livelihood, income and food security of farmers
through provision of new generation knowledge, learning and information services, and to offer enhanced
capacity strengthening and continuing education services to course developers, extension personnel, university
students and rural learners.
The principle will be one of cooperative content creation, validation and re-use subject to normal considerations and
respect for the intellectual property of the participant institutions. Content re-usability across the English-using
countries in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa will be a key consideration guiding the development of the strategy
for AGRID design and deployment.
Objectives:
• Formation and sustenance of a consortium of SAU’s, IT resource institutions, ICAR institutes and
Divisions and other relevant agencies to participate in the development of a multi-institutional grid of e-
content for improved farming and livelihoods.
• Promoting technology-mediated open and distance learning in agriculture to make vocational education
accessible to large numbers of rural youth and women.
• Developing capacity strengthening and continuing education programs for teachers, extension personnel
and agri-entrepreneurs.
• Building a life-long learning program for farmers for enhanced livelihood security and economic well
being, with a special focus on rural women as learners.
• Carry impact assessment studies at all appropriate levels and locations and build a system to internalise
stake-holders’ feedback.
349