ASEAN Smart Farmers: The Power of Sharing
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Author: Siriporn Laosang
Over 150 farmers and supporters gathered at the Smart Farmer Regional Carnival in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to exchange ideas and learn about regional innovations and knowledge. The event took place during 20-23 January 2015, with participants from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Siriporn Laosang, Empower Women’s Regional Coordinator in Asia and the Pacific, shares her experiences of the event.
During the Carnival, participants took part in discussions on how different sectors empower ASEAN farmers through of the use of knowledge management tools and information and communication technologies (ICTs); and learned about sustainable farming techniques. An exhibition of farming tools, community products and local produce were open to the public.
Young women also had the opportunity to enhance their computer and Internet skills during a training-of-trainers session. With their new-found skills, the women then coached older farmers on how to use social media and online platforms to improve their productivity.
Natnicha Chorum, a 10-year-old pupil from Buriram, in the North-east of Thailand, was excited about the Carnival and wanted to share her enthusiasm: “I got to learn how to use Google to search for all kinds of information. I now have an email account and a Facebook profile. To me, this technology makes the world so open and full of knowledge. Not only was I trained during the Smart Farmers Carnival, I got to share and train farmers about the Internet and social networks while I learned about farming techniques from them.”
The training-of-trainers session was part of the larger Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition (SAFSeN) project of the ASEAN Foundation and the Southeast Asian Council for Food Security and Fair Trade (SEACON). Developed in 2014, SAFSeN is an information centre for farmers in the ASEAN region. Farmers are able to get up-to-date information on farming, sales and marketing, including on seed and pest data, weather reports and prices of agricultural products. SAFSeN members without an email address can obtain information via SMS. Through the SAFSeN e-Store, farmers are trained to sell their products online. A payment function will be added to the platform in the future. SAFSeN training sessions have so far been organized for members in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Mali Seedee, a 50-year-old woman farmer, also from Buriram, was experiencing her second training on the Internet and social media: “I can barely read English but now I know how to use Facebook and Line messenger to market and sell my products. My income increases and I learned a lot from connecting with other people online. I also learned about organic farming during the carnival and I know I can learn more about it by using the Internet.”
The ASEAN Smart Farmers Carnival was sponsored and supported by the Center of Communication and Development Knowledge Management (CCDKM), The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Intel, Maejo University, Microsoft, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and SAFSen.