Radio+ and Open Source Software for Mobilizing Knowledge for Sustainable Agriculture in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) considered an important platform towards sustainable agriculture, specifically when mobile and Free and Open Source (FOSS) applications are used to broadcast radio referred to here as Radio+.
 Radio+ plays an important role in educating and entertaining farmers and give beneficial farming information. Radio+ can encourage younger farmers to increase their participation in the agricultural sector and motivate them to use new ideas and techniques for agriculture. In order to boost sustainable agricultural systems, Free and Open Source (FOSS) applications recognized for low cost and user-friendly platform used on mobile devices such as Smart Phones.
 In Sri Lanka, partners including the Department of Export Agriculture, Wayamba University and LIRNEasia collaborating with researchers at the University of Alberta and University of Guelph have created a community of practice for farmer media convergence. A partnership development grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) in 2012 enabled the partners to establish a community-university research partnership in order to explore the potential for low cost ICTs to enhance knowledge mobilization practices within agricultural communities of practice in Sri Lanka. This paper outlines the experiences of the initiative and its use of Open Source (FOSS) and radio+ for sustainable agriculture in Sri Lanka.