Digital Green Overview

Digital Green: Technology and social organization to amplify the effectiveness of development

1. digital GREEN digital green .org

2. Agriculture in India 600M agriculture-dependent lives Majority small landholders (<3 acres) <$2 a day ($750 a year) Growing debts ($300 per year per farmer) Earlier technology intervention… Green revolution had mixed results Increased yields, but… Led to rising input costs, declining soil fertility Due to excessive use of fertilizers/pesticides Indiscriminate use of technology partially responsible for current agrarian crisis A farmer from Yellachavadi village, outside of Bangalore 2

3. Agricultural Systems? Low literacy in local lang No bank account Expensive credit No unique ID Poor roads Credit card Computing device and connectivity not enough! farmer expert Quantity buyers Poor quality control Market

4. 4 4 Agriculture Extension Dissemination of expert agriculture information and technology to farmers “ Training & Visit ” extension popularized by the World Bank in 1970s Face-to-face interactions of extension officers and farmers 100,000 extension officers in India Extension agent-to-farmer ratio is 1: 2,000 610,000 villages in India with average 1,000-person population Extension officer “ commuting ” between farms

5. 5 ? Main source of information about new technology and farm practices over the past 365 days (India: NSSO 2005) Agricultural Social Networks 5

6. 6 6 How can the speed and effectiveness of agriculture extension be improved at a reasonable cost? The Problem Extension officer on-field demonstration

7. 7 7 Video provides… Resource-savings: human, cost, time Accessibility for non-literate farmers Digital Video for Extension

8. 8 Six months in field trying various combinations Over 200 days of surveys, ethnographic investigation, and iterative design Background of actors in video , Types of content, Location and timing of screening, Method of dissemination, Degree of mediation, Background of mediator, etc. Background of actors in video, Types of content, Location and timing of screening, Method of dissemination, Degree of mediation , Background of mediator, etc. 8 Early Experimentation Parameters Varied Early Experimentation

9. 9 Participatory Content Production 9 Digital Green System Introduction to innovations Standard extension procedure Rough “ storyboarding ” Repetitive pattern; easy to learn Minimize post-production Local farmers on their own fields Reduce perception of “ teachers ” Promote “ local stars ”

10. 10 10 Digital Green System Video Database Online video database http ://www.digital green .org >2,100 videos of 8-10 minutes each Quality-control, minor video editing, and metadata tagging Indexed by type, topic, locale, season, crop, etc. Distributed via memory cards

11. 11 11 Digital Green System Mediated Instruction Local mediator Performance-based honorarium Human engagement Field questions, capture feedback, encourage participation Balance genders On-demand screenings Choice time and place Not “ stand-alone ” kiosk Support and monitoring Daily metrics and feedback Official extension staff

12. 12 12 Digital Green System Structured Sequencing Group Participation Practices with longer-term visible rewards Practices with short-term visible rewards Community Assessment Audience Awareness Season Location Time

13. 13 13 Digital Green System Participatory content production Video database Mediated instruction Structured sequencing

14. 14 21 villages in Karnataka: Language: Kannada Crops: Ragi , banana, mulberry, coconut Population: 50-80 households Irrigation: 10-20 households with access Television: 15-20 households Metrics: Knowledge: Before-and-after Attendance: Farmers at each screening Interest: Intent to take-up a practice Adoption: Number of households taking up each new farming practice or technology 14 Experimental Set-Up Preliminary Evaluation Expert Extension Officer Farming Community Farming Community Farming Community Research Assistant Local Mediator Local Mediator Local Mediator Poster Green(3) Same as Digital Green with local mediator, but no TV/DVD Mediator makes posters and holds regular group sessions Classical GREEN (8) Same as usual Digital Green (9) 3 sessions per week Cost: Rs. 9,500 ($240) for TV/DVD per village PC / camera costs shared Extension officer shared Mediator salary Accountability: Daily metrics and feedback Official extension staff 15-month study Audio Green (1) Same as Poster Green with MP3 audio tracks from videos

15. 15 7 times more adoptions over classical extension 15 15 months: 13 villages, 3 nights a week, 1,000 regulars Sustained local presence Mediation Repetition (and novelty) Integration into existing extension operations Social homophily between mediator, actor, and farmer Desire to be “ on TV ” Trust built from identities of farmers and villages in videos Digital Green: Early Results

16. 16 System Cost (USD) / Village/Year Adoption (%) / Village/Year Cost/Adoption (USD) Classical GREEN $840 11% $38.18 Digital Green $630 85% $3.70 Poster Green $490 59% $4.15 Cost-Benefit 16 Note: Decreasing amortized cost of hardware with time and scale Digital Green is at least 10 times more effective per dollar spent than classical extension!

17. 17 In first 8 months, adoption of improved practices increased the incomes of farmers by an average of $242 ! Incremental Adoptions, Incremental Incomes

18. $100 $150

19. 19 1 2 3 Network Effect Viral Web 2.0 in the Web-less world Content ecosystem: education, entrepreneurship, entertainment Cost-realistic access: pico projectors, TVs, DVD players, and camcorders Reinforce existing social networks to diffuse innovations through communities Local “ idol ” competitions to be a better farmer Digital Green System 19

20. 21 Platform Digital Green System 21 Cloud-based central database Synchronized with local databases Online Offline (no/low connectivity) Browser-based input Data stored in local database Synchronized when connectivity available

21. COCO | Connect Online, Connect Offline Digital Green System digitalgreen.org /tech

22. 23 Platform Robust system to share, track, and analyse data to manage operations and target interventions over time Analytics dashboard built on top of a simple yet robust data entry system that can toggle between online and offline connectivity modes Digital Green System 23 http://www.digitalgreen.org/ Offline mode 10x faster than online 100,000 simultaneous offline users

23. Analytics Digital Green System analytics.digitalgreen.org

24. Analytics Digital Green System analytics.digitalgreen.org

25. Non -Non-Profit Digital Green Digital Green ’ s value to farmers is established – viewers contribute Rs. 2-4 per screening. Could DG also be supported by ads? Advertisers get access to a distributed, captive audience with demonstrated interest in better agriculture. Ads follow Digital Green ’ s distribution channels. To do: Scale Digital Green Devise mechanism for ensuring appropriate ads Quantify ad effectiveness Quantify ad value to advertisers Digital Green DVD title screen Subsidize agriculture extension with ads?

26. Wonder Village Digital Green System apps.facebook.com / wondervillage

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29. 30 Ministry of Rural Development ( Govt of India)

30. 31 VARRAT

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32. Agricultural Systems? Low literacy in local lang No bank account Expensive credit No unique ID Poor roads Credit card farmer expert Quantity buyers Poor quality control Market Technology not enough!

33. Technology magnifies human intent and capability. Technology itself requires support from well-intentioned, competent people or organizations. Successful technology interventions work as a part of well-intentioned, competent organizations.

34. Thanks! digital green .org team@digital green .org