Farmer-Owned Cloud Database Environments: Improving the Use of Data in Decision-Making and Value Chain Development Through Farmer-Managed Data Tracking and Evaluation

This system engages farmers and field agents of partner networks as active members of a data collection/feedback loop, informing farmer network production planning activities in tandem with broader USAID/PCE programming. Producer networks are trained to collect data and use it to better plan and manage their own activities while also integrating performance indicators to meet project-level data needs. The data management tools used by the USAID/PCE approach incorporate various simple elements of computer software, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and cloud-based data sharing. These tools were established and validated through a close participatory process between the USAID/PCE technical team and partner networks across different value chains. The approach demonstrates the power of efficiently aligning project and stakeholder incentives to leverage public and private investments and attain common goals with stronger impact. Before working with USAID/PCE, the majority of farmers and farmer networks did not track their production activities. Only a few networks working in the Senegal River Valley with industrial rice mills documented, to a minimal extent, their credit, input supplies, and sales. USAID/PCE beneficiaries are mostly small farmers who are members of a diversity of farmer groups, which are the community-level owners of project implementation activities. The USAID/PCE technical support to partner networks includes the establishment of demonstration sites, which are used by networks for trainings on best practices and for disseminating new technologies and seed varieties. USAID/PCE also supports networks through facilitating access to agricultural equipment and funding, and linking farmers to other downstream value chain actors, with a specific focus on grain processing industries. Emphasis was placed on building networks' capacity for documenting, monitoring, and evaluating their activities, which perpetuates a cycle of transparency, responsible ownership, and informed decision-making. Three core sets of information are tracked to support corresponding elements of USAID/PCE component activities, including information on network membership, seasonal production planning, and agronomic monitoring of plots. Some networks also track additional data sets on output quality control results, and rainfall measurements. Database templates were developed in Microsoft Excel format to maintain simplicity and accessibility for users with little to no pre-existing skills in that area. The approach design process began by examining the information needs of the project's partners (farmer networks) and the project itself, as well as the differing roles, responsibilities, and capabilities of the actors involved. USAID/PCE engaged other actors at various points in the design, implementation, and refinement of the approach, resulting in a tailored system that meets the needs of small farmers and value chain actors. This system provides the USAID/PCE M&E team access to timely and reliable data to inform project-level performance indicators.