Training of Trainers - Library - Network of Aquaculture Centres in ...

Printed publicationsPrinted publications are a mainstay of extension employed by virtually all governments as a (relatively) cheapmechanism for reaching large numbers of producers, although where cost-recovery policies are pursued, cost isstill often a significant issue both for the publisher and for the end user. As stand-alone products, the usefulness ofpublications is constrained by many factors, including the literacy and technical ability of the target stakeholders,and so they need to be prepared with due consideration of the needs of the target group, for whom they often playa supporting role in training courses and other ways of learning. Government organisations tend to communicatein an ‘official dialect’ that reflects their own internal bureaucracy and priorities, and which is not suitable forcommunication with their (external) stakeholders, who speak a different, more natural ‘language’.An issue that remains understated is that the accessibility of printed matter is often a significant issue for people inrural communities, just as distribution can be an issue for the publisher. Producing a publication is relativelysimple, but ensuring that it is widely available, accessible and affordable to the people that actually need it is farmore difficult. In many ways, the problems that rural communities face in accessing printed media are notdissimilar to those they face in accessing the web.Use of internet technologies for networking and service delivery“A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new waysto share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and gettingsmarter faster than most companies.” – The Cluetrain Manifesto.Any discussion of internet technologies for small scale farmers needs to acknowledge its limitations. Internetpenetration is low in rural areas and also in low-income earning groups. Internet penetration is extremely lowamong people who are both rural and poor. However, having said that:• The same is true of printed publications, training courses and most other ‘traditional’ approaches.• Internet penetration is growing rapidly and continues to accelerate, particularly amongst youngpeople.• Computer prices continue to fall, particularly for small mobile computing devices.• Mobile phones and satellite internet services are bringing broadband internet speeds even to theremotest of areas.• Within our lifetime it is likely that nearly all electronic devices will be networked into a single giantcommunication grid.The internet is not yet ‘mainstream’ for direct communication with most farmers in the region. However, someinitiatives such as the “Aquachopals” of India or the ‘One Stop Aqua Shops’ piloted by NACA have successfullyprovided facilitated access to the internet for farming communities.There are also indirect applications – the internet is often an important mechanism for communication amongstthose who work with farmers, such as extension agents and government officers. The ‘Nabuur: Global neighbour’initiative (www.nabuur.com) facilitates access of rural villages to technical specialists such in medicine,engineering, education and anything else the village requires, connecting villagers with expert volunteers all overthe world. Below we consider some of the emerging possibilities and some of the practical applications of theinternet that you can use today.86