Tracing Hybridity in the Provision of ICT-Enabled Agricultural Weather Information Services in Ghana

Abstract

This study investigates the hybrid informational governance arrangements involved in the provision of ICT-enabled Weather Information Services (WIS) for farming in Ghana. Farmers and organizations providing WIS were interviewed. Findings show that multiple technologies are used by combinations of government, business, and civil society organizations to provide various WIS for farming. The ICT has facilitated the creation of different hybrid informational governance arrangements, categorized as multiplicity, intertwinement, and coalescence, which permits flows of WIS across scales, from international non-state organizations to farming communities, often by-passing national and district-level government organizations. Government organizations remain key players in the provision of WIS.

Understanding flood forecast information provision for agriculture in Bangladesh

“…At the same time, several authors have signaled that forecast information tends to be provided in a supply-driven fashion, and is currently not very responsive to specific demands of farmers (Kumar, 2021). In response to this, several researchers have experimented with co-production approaches whereby farmers participate in the design of (mostly ICTbased) information services, demonstrating that this is a promising route to creating more relevant information services (Kumar et al, 2020;Sarku et al, 2021;Nyadzi, 2020).…”

“…In other words, the information may differ in terms of its level of granularity and precision, which can shape its relevance from the perspective of a specific farmer or farming community at any particular point in time (Roncoli et al, 2009;Nyamekye et al, 2018). In relation to this, research indicates that forecasting information that is more refined and precise in space and time tends to be appreciated more than information that is less time and space specific (Sarku et al, 2021).…”

“…Finally, it is important to acknowledge that the social and institutional context in which dissemination takes place also impinges on the process. There is a diversity of information providers these days, both public and private, and the availability of new technological opportunities (notably modern ICT) has not only influenced the media used but also led to the emergence of new actors and modes of governance in the field of information provision (Munthali et al, 2018;Hoefnagel, et al, 2013;Mol, 2006;Sarku et al, 2021). It is likely that state agencies, non-governmental organisations and commercial companies involved in providing forecast information operate in different ways that are affected by their different institutional rationales (Thornton et al, 2012).…”

“…The frequent use of the English language messages in ICT platforms is perhaps illustrative of the supply-driven fashion in which many ICT tools are developed and promoted (Carr and Onzere, 2018, Pennesi, 2011, Vedeld et al, 2019, and the tendency to ignore human abilities, preferences, and motivations (Toyama, 2011;Marchewka andKostiwa, 2007, Munthali et al 2018). There are currently several initiatives to use participatory design approaches to develop ICT tools (Kumar et al 2020;Sarku et al, 2021;Nyadzi, 2020) in order to make them more user-oriented, and this seems indeed a promising route to tailoring information services to farmers' needs and contexts, even if this does not always succeed (on the latter see McCampbell 2021). However, in the context of Bangladesh, the large scale use of ICT platforms will require major investments in training and maintenance of technical infrastructures and software, as well as continuous investment in content management and the improvement of services.…”

“…The core of this thesis is to understand why it is difficult to make forecast information usable at local level. Earlier studies have typically pointed to challenges with regard to the timeliness and accuracy of forecast information (Islam et al, 2013;Ahmed et al, 2019;Fakhruddin et al, 2015;Kumar, 2021) and to limitations in farmers' capacity to interpret and understand the information that is increasingly available through mobile phone technology (Archie et al, 2014;DAE, 2018;Kumar et al, 2021;Sarku et al, 2021). Less attention has been paid to the challenges arising from the institutional setups through which forecast information is produced and made available, and to the role of agricultural extension services in making forecast information relevant to different contexts.…”