20 pages., Via online newsletter article., This paper describes the challenges of decentralisation and privatisation of rural services from the perspective of
communication strategy development. The wave of decentralisation and privatisation in rural services worldwide creates challenges for rural communities, service providers and local governments. Local organisations – both in government and civil society – are confronted with rules and procedures that are unprecedented. The new roles require significant changes in attitudes, skills, and especially a new level of accountability. While communication strategies are only a part of the transformation, they are strategic tools that merit attention. This is an account of two cases where the authors have been involved in developing communication strategies aimed specifically at helping stakeholders make this transition. The first is the case of the Communication and Information Strategy for the National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme (NAADS) of Uganda. The second is the formulation of a plan to communicate the National Water Policy (NWP) and Rural Water Transition Plan in Mozambique. The paper concludes with some design principles for other strategies and with a review of the importance of communication research and planning.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (author)
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 8 Document Number: D10296
Notes:
57 pages., Report from FAO, Via website., This report responds to the request by the G20 Agricultural Ministers to FAO, IFPRI and OECD in
June 2016 to build on their preliminary assessment of existing ICT applications and platforms and
make specific proposals for consideration and action by G20 Agriculture Deputies ahead of the next
G20 Agricultural Ministers meeting on the best possible mechanism to improve agricultural ICT
exchange and cooperation. The report is organized as follows: (i) The section Summary, Evaluation and Recommendations is targeted to policy makers and draws from the detailed review undertaken in Sections 1 to 4 of the report. It provides a succinct but comprehensive account of ICTs in agriculture, including evaluating their impact. It identifies gaps, and puts forward a number of recommendations for the G20 in line with the G20 comparative advantage for collective action. Policies and measures to promote ICTs are crucial for the G20 economies and for agriculture in particular. G20 Ministers of Agriculture can take action to integrate ICTs in agricultural policies and initiatives. The report makes a number of recommendations for concrete actions in the area of ICTs that promote sustainable food systems and contribute to the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.(ii) Sections 1 to 4 contain a detailed, albeit not exhaustive review of ICTs in agriculture. There is plethora of ICT applications on agriculture, ranging from using radio to satellite remote sensing, and in Section 2 every effort has been made to provide a comprehensive picture through the discussion of selected applications. Section 3 reviews the platforms and initiatives that promote the use of ICTs, and Section 4 examines governance issues specifically related to principles, rights and privacy. A number of Annexes provide more detail to the reader on a number of areas related to
governance.
9 pages., Via online journal., This paper looks at how knowledge has been communicated within a multi-layered water governance structure in order to manage non-point source (NPS) pollution in South Korea. Since 28,300 ha of wetlands were reclaimed in Saemangeum, on the western side of the country, in 2006, the artificial lake created has suffered from chronic pollution. For the purposes of integrated water management, a water governance structure was formed linking organisations ranging from local to national scales. Despite institutional efforts to implement integrated water management and a governance approach, knowledge of NPS pollution and its management was produced and communicated among certain stakeholders only, such as policy and technical experts. In-depth interview and archival analysis of this research attempt to explain why and how the loss of knowledge communication occurred in this context. The first result of this research illustrates that, while knowledge communication has been smooth at the national and provincial layers, it has not taken place efficiently through to the local layer. When it comes to local farmers and governmental organisations and experts in particular, knowledge nodes have not functioned. Second, the research suggests that non-communication of knowledge has been mobilised as a professional strategy. Actors at the local layer have prioritized their professional interests and intentionally avoided knowledge communication with other department or ministries. Local and community actors have chosen not to provide farmers information. We conclude by discussing policy implications for knowledge communication and inclusive water governance.
