Facilitating the Adoption of Farmer Charlie's Technology by Smallholder Farmers in Emerging Countries

联合国粮食及农业组织（粮农组织）2017年的一份报告转载了世界银行的数据：“农业是约5亿小农的经济和社会支柱，在发展中国家，该部门是收入、就业和粮食安全的最大来源。农业和粮食部门的可持续、包容性增长在农场、市场、城市、城镇和村庄以及从农场到餐桌的整个粮食生产和消费链中创造就业机会。“多年来，许多研究表明，信息和新技术对于改善农业实践至关重要，从而提高产量，减少生产废物，如收获后废物，以有效的方式应对气候变化。与此同时，根据Weforum，2018年，非洲70%的粮食由妇女种植。根据粮农组织2012年的报告，如果妇女“能够与男子一样获得生产资源，她们可以将农场产量提高20- 30%。“Farmer Charlie是一个负担得起的互联平台，旨在促进小农的农业活动，为他们提供有关土壤、当地天气状况、农业综合企业机会、采后废物减少、可持续性、气候变化。我们的可行性研究旨在改善农村社区对新技术的采用（这是我们创新的一个硬障碍），并巩固与最不发达国家的合作伙伴或潜在合作伙伴网络的合作。它还将确保技术的包容性采用，解决性别，教育水平，年龄障碍。象牙海岸被认为是最适合访问的地方，因为它的机会。例如，象牙海岸可以帮助农民查理进入更广阔的市场，这要归功于该国通过西非经济和货币联盟与其他西非国家的关系，西非经济和货币联盟包括贝宁、布基纳法索、科特迪瓦、几内亚比绍、马里、尼日尔、塞内加尔和多哥，所有这些国家都使用同一种货币。对象牙海岸市场的分析有助于发现稻谷、水稻种子和水稻种植援助的绝佳机会，因为科特迪瓦政府的目标是到2030年实现大米生产的自给自足。象牙海岸作为世界上最好的可可生产国和出口国的地位也得到了考虑，因为农民查理以前对可可作物的研究很容易被利用，如果需要的话，可以将知识付诸实践。象牙海岸还提供了各种农业和地理优势，因为在该国有大型和中型种植园，但也有小型农场，象牙海岸是一个相当大的国家，商业是合理的。可行性研究将通过以用户为中心的方法与当地社区直接接触进行，并将测试和收集有关新技术、挑战和与之相关的优势的反馈意见。我们希望，直接接触和了解以及有机会倾听农民的痛苦和收获将成为建立信任的基础，并与当地社区开始富有成效的合作和伙伴关系。

According to the World Bank, reproduced in an United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report of 2017, "Agriculture is the economic and social mainstay of some 500 million smallholder farmers, and in developing countries, the sector is the largest source of incomes, jobs and food security. Sustainable, inclusive growth in the agriculture and food sectors creates jobs -- on farms, in markets, cities, towns and villages, and throughout the farm-to-table food production and consumption chain."Over the years, many studies have shown that information and new technologies are critical to improving farming practices, leading to increasing yield, reducing production waste, such as postharvest wastes, addressing climate change in an efficient manner.At the same time, according to Weforum, 2018, women grow 70% of Africa's food. According to FAO, 2012, if women had "the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yield on their farms by 20-30 percent."Farmer Charlie is an affordable connected platform created to foster agricultural activities of smallholder farmers, providing them with information and data on soil, local weather conditions, agribusiness opportunities, postharvest waste reduction, sustainability, climate change.Our feasibility study aims to improve the adoption of new technologies in rural communities (a hard barrier to our innovation) and to consolidate collaboration with a network of partners or potential partners in a least developed country. It will also ensure the inclusive adoption of technology, addressing gender, level of education, age barriers.Ivory Coast was considered the most suitable place to visit because of its opportunities. For instance, Ivory Coast could facilitate Farmer Charlie’s access to a wider market thanks to the country’s relationships with other West African countries through the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, all sharing the same currency. The analysis of the market in Ivory Coast helped to spot excellent opportunities for rough rice, rice seeds and rice cultivation assistance, since the Ivoirian government aims to be self-sufficient in rice production by 2030. The position of Ivory Coast as the best producer and exporter of cocoa in the world was also considered, as previous Farmer Charlie research on cocoa crops could be easily exploited, putting knowledge into practice should the need arise. Ivory Coast also offered a varied agricultural and geographical benefits, as in the country there are large and medium plantations but also small farms, and Ivory Coast is a country of a fair size where commerce is reasonably accessible. The feasibility study will be carried out through direct contacts with local communities, via a user-centered approach, and will test and gather feedback on new technologies, challenges and advantages linked to them. It is hoped that direct contact and knowledge and the opportunity to listen to the pains and gains of the farmers will be the foundations to establish trust and start fruitful collaborations and partnerships with the local communities.