Evidence can drive concrete action in agriculture sector

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By Charles Dhewa

Farmers and other agricultural value chain actors who are waiting for the socio-economic environment to change in order to take positive action may have to wait forever unless they think twice. They have to learn how to succeed in a chaotic environment. That can only be achieved through investments in data and evidence gathering.

Since they have not replenished their knowledge over the years, formal institutions that previously survived through old boys networks are become redundant.

Instead of learning from agile actors in the informal economic sector, some formal institutions resort to giving informal actors all sorts of negative labels.

As if to say anything you don’t understand should be called a ghost, traders in informal markets are being given various negative names like Makoronyera and others which denote tricksters. Such name-calling is a barrier to knowledge sharing.

Climate change and economic instability are disrupting many organisational track records in Zimbabwe. To that end, changing the mind sets of people requires evidence-based concrete action.

Unfortunately the quality and limitations of information currently being used in the agriculture sector is way below average to inform concrete action.

Organisations and communities have to harness data collection techniques that demonstrate value at a granular level.

Accurate data can also provide a more comprehensive and forward-looking evaluation of each value chain actor’s performance. That should ultimately enable value chain actors to direct a cultural change in our agro-based economy.

Going beyond mobile

applications

So far, most of the excitement about digital technology has focused on android phone-driven marketing and sales. That is revealed by an increase in organisations and banks that are launching their own individual mobile-applications.

It seems mobile applications are a new discovery for every financial institution. Rather than over-commercialising one piece of technology, it would be beneficial for the agricultural sector if digital technology is used to improve climate forecasting and demand planning which are currently less sophisticated to capture the dynamics of the agro-based economy.

Farmers should be able to use data to experiment with various traceability models

Farmers should be able to use data to experiment with various traceability models

Sophisticated weather forecasting would enable food processors to not only choose the best districts or natural farming regions from which to source raw materials, but also to adapt their planning to weather and micro- climate patterns.

Other possibilities include determining the ideal mix of commodities for value addition, informed by productivity levels by farming region or district.

Without data, it is impossible for investors and policy makers to know that almost every province in Zimbabwe now produces small grains contrary to the view that small grains are grown in drier regions only.

Such evidence can fuel proper investment planning resulting in employment opportunities.

Instead of traceability focusing on satisfying foreign markets, robust data collection and analyses can ensure traceability of commodities start from local production zones and local markets.

Eventually the culture of tracing commodities will mature along various agricultural communities of practice. Farmers and other value chain actors should be able to use data to experiment with various traceability models. For example, they can produce a detailed analysis of every stage and process undergone by a tomato, sweet potato, butternut or any other commodity until it gets to Mbare or Malaleni Market. That will ensure traceability becomes part of our food chain culture. All these processes start with data collection and analysis.

A moment of truth for agricultural value chain actors

The rate at which the Zimbabwean economy is in-formalising is a moment of truth for all socio-economic actors including manufacturers, formal educational institutions, researchers and policy makers.

Many formal organizations including banks are still to integrate robust evidence gathering into their investment decisions. For instance most financial institutions are struggling to convert their commitment to financial inclusion into practice.

They continue to treat informal markets, smallholder farmers and the whole SME sector as a sideshow rather than an integral part of investing in food systems.

They need to develop a comprehensive scoring system based on the best available benchmarks. Unfortunately, they do not have a culture of disclosing information to each other and to the whole economy.

A commitment to financial inclusion will remain symbolic unless there is a change in investment and resource-allocation towards intensive data collection and analysis.

Risks and opportunities of financial inclusion will become clearly visible if all economic value chain actors share information in a standardised.

Developing a shared data collection and analyses system will multiply the benefits for every actor in ways that reflect the nuances of different sources of evidence.

Some of these critical knowledge generation activities should no longer be out-sourced but be mainstreamed into employees’ duties and job descriptions.

Through riding on the current digital technology wave, agricultural value chain actors can move beyond ad-hoc collaboration.

They can lay out long-term strategies showing how lack of timely information affects ability to generate value.

They can also come up with scenario analyses that allow all value chain actors to fulfil their roles as stewards of natural resources. That effort is very important in building a nuanced understanding of risks posed by climate change at various levels.

 

Charles Dhewa is a proactive knowledge management specialist and chief executive officer of Knowledge Transfer Africa (Pvt) (www.knowledgetransafrica.com ) whose flagship eMKambo (www.emkambo.co.zw ) has a presence in more than 20 agricultural markets in Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on: [email protected] ; Mobile: +263 774 430 309 / 772 137 717/ 712 737 430.

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