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ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (APRTC) TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Asia Pacific Regional Technology Centre (APRTC) was initiated by a group of forward thinking individuals in the private sector associated with the crop protection industry in the Asia-Pacific. They realized that considerably more needed to be done to promote sustainable agricultural practices in the region and beyond. Farmers are increasingly being challenged to raise levels of production, optimise use of expensive external inputs, compete in a tough global economy and keep their operations profitable without endangering their fragile resource base. It was realized that innovative agricultural technology options could help address this dilemma, but also that the farm technology gap in Asia is vast. Agricultural professionals in multiple sectors - government, non-government, development and Industry itself - were the logical leverage point in attempting to bridge this gap but were not considered to have adequate levels of knowledge and skills to play an effective role. An educational program was therefore conceptualised that could take advantage of new information and communication technologies. It was felt that an e-learning program targeting key groups of professionals in agriculture could be a powerful tool for change and more widespread adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. As a result of these initial deliberations, several private sector corporations earmarked funds to be used to establish the Asia-Pacific Regional Technology Centre (APRTC) and its Distance Learning Programme. They agreed to make this seed money available for an initial period of 3 years after which the results and impact of the programme would be critically evaluated. The expectation was that the APRTC would eventually evolve into an independent, impartial and self-supporting not-for-profit educational institution reaching agricultural professionals throughout the region. The first APRTC business plan was approved in October 2000 by the Asia-Pacific Crop Protection Association's (APCPA) Coordinating Council (CC). The APCPA is another Industry initiative responsible for providing regional leadership and representation for the plant sciences industry and in promoting and supporting the safe and responsible use of crop production technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. At this meeting the CC voiced its support for the establishment of the APRTC as an educational and training organization serving industry and other stakeholder groups. Shortly after this meeting, Worldview International Foundation, an international NGO with hands-on experience & knowledge covering the entire gamut of communication and media activities for development, joined the APCPA as an official partner in helping to establish the APRTC. Actual operations began in late January 2001 with the setting up of an office in Bangkok sharing APCPA's premises and resources. Initial core staff were contracted and the basic necessary physical infrastructure put in place. At the time of the writing of this report - 10 months into the effort - considerable progress has been made. The APRTC has its own domain name, an associated Website, a robust dedicated Internet connection, minimal but sufficient hardware and software resources, and a solid and growing network of human resources involved in programming, course design, delivery, management and facilitation. The APRTC is now legally registered and recognized as a non-profit - 1(c)(3) corporation in the United States and has applied for tax exempt status as well. Three completely online courses have already been implemented for some 80 participants throughout the region from a range of sectors. Three more courses are in various stages of development. Details of the rationale behind the APRTC's Distance Learning Programme, the benefits it promises, its e-learning approach, accomplishments, future plans and issues for attention are detailed below. In the Asia-Pacific region, food security will only be achieved through increases in productivity on existing and shrinking farm land, driven by technological innovations in agriculture. FAO notes that "Millions of poor rural people desperately need access to updated technologies, including machines, improved plant varieties and animal breeds, better crop and post-harvest techniques, and higher investment. Seeing subsistence farming as a "traditional way of life" is part of a "rural nostalgic atavism that is out of step with reality (FAO, 2000). Agricultural scientists around the world realize that the technological solutions they develop to address the food security problem must contribute to and be compatible with the underlying principles of sustainable agriculture which, "Involves design and management procedures that work with natural processes to conserve all resources, minimize waste and environmental damage, while maintaining or improving farm profitability" (McGill University, 1989). Unfortunately, farmers around the world have been slow to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. As Pretty (1995) states, "although there exists successful applications of sustainable agriculture throughout the world, very few farmers have adopted both the technologies or the practices". The solution to this problem is not a simple one. The Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center sums up conventional thinking when he observes that sustainability in agriculture is a "moving target" and that "Agriculture is based on dynamic biological, physical, and chemical systems, and farmers live in a constantly changing economic, social, and political environment. Given this scenario it is illogical to believe that there is a "magic bullet" to deliver sustainable agriculture to all farming locations (Reeves, 2000). Having said this, however, there is growing support for the notion that there are critical linkages between agricultural education and food security. The underlying evidence for this linkage was made explicit in a 1998 FAO study that synthesized the outcomes of a series of expert consultations, regional round table discussions and staff analyses. FAO concluded that, "Poor quality of training of agricultural professionals, technicians and producers has been identified as part of the global food security problem" (Lindley, 1998). The APRTC sees addressing the problem of poor quality training in agriculture, particularly as this impacts on sustainable agriculture, as its primary function. The APRTC's Mission Statement, adopted by the APCPA Coordinating Council during its October 2000 meeting, reflects this focus: Training, Knowledge-sharing and Empowerment for Sustainable Agriculture. Since this meeting, the APRTC has acquired a considerable amount of experience and had the opportunity to dialogue with a wide range of interested parties from within Industry and among the APRTC's stakeholder community. Based on these inputs, our original Mission Statement has been clarified and incorporated into the organization's Bylaws. Therein it is stated that the legal Purpose of the APRTC is:
Multi-sectoral Benefits Expected The benefits of widespread adoption of sustainable agricultural practices are clear for a wide range of APRTC's involved stakeholder groups from multiple sectors. Key stakeholder groups include the Plant Sciences/Crop Protection Industry (private sector), consumer, environmental and development groups (NGOs and other development agencies), national governments and most importantly - Asia-Pacific farmers. An illustrative listing of the benefits each of these major stakeholder groups can expect include: Farmers: Reduced costs of production, greater profits, decreased
health risks. Strengths of e-learning as an Educational Strategy Interactive e-learning is the APRTC's mechanism of choice for reaching its intended audience and fulfilling its mandate. e-learning is 'Internet-enabled learning' and it uses network technologies to create, foster, deliver, and facilitate learning. It is "characterized by speed, technological transformation, and mediated human interactions" (Stokes, 2000). Advantages of this approach in developing countries are clear, "e-learning matches the needs of non-traditional students, increases the educational facilities available to traditional students, provides companies with cost-efficient yet effective training options and gives students and researchers in developing nations an invaluable means of gaining a first world education tempered by third world experience" (Anonymous, 2001). In addition to its primary focus on the promotion of sustainable agriculture through education, 3 factors characterize APRTC's approach:
Given the nature of education in general and e-learning in particular, it is currently almost impossible for any one organization to fulfil all the requirements of a successful program. The literature provides a host of reasons why success depends on collaboration and partnerships. "Realizing the promise of e- learning will require forging new kinds of public and private partnerships. In recent years, educators and business leaders have worked more closely together than ever before, and much work remains to be done that will have to be accomplished in partnership" (Stokes, 2000). The APRTC is expending a considerable amount of effort to forge strategic partnerships within its stakeholder community beyond APCPA and Worldview International Foundation. Academic institutions and their faculty with which it is currently establishing, or has already established, collaborative activities include:
It is also engaging in dialogue with donor and development agencies to
determine mutual advantages and modes of collaboration and to broaden
its funding base. Initial contacts have been made with:
The keen interest shown by potential partners in initial discussions is a result of their realization of the clear mutual benefits it offers. For example, universities find the materials and specialized knowledge gained through the partnerships useful to their current teaching and appreciate access to the cost-effective design, hosting and delivery system provided by the APRTC. The private sector benefits through a better-trained workforce and the availability of quality continuing education for its staff. NGOs see that the partnership offers a unique opportunity to reach a wider constituency with its message and better fulfill its mandate. The APRTC benefits through enhanced credibility for courses and potential accreditation for online students from respected universities. Governments and society benefit through a better educated farming community in the Asia Pacific region and more competitive economic enterprises. Just as the APRTC feels that it is important to link with a wide range of partners in the design and delivery of its educational offerings, it also feels that it must target individuals in a wide range of sectors. While its initial concentration has been on meeting Industry educational needs, it realizes that these needs are at least as critical among government extension agents, development workers, primary producers, academics and students and strives to address their needs as well. There is also considerable optimism that online educational activities will be enriched with the participation and interaction of students with diverse perspectives on the problems and solutions associated with sustainable agriculture. However, it is realized that many of these individuals outside of Industry
are severely limited in their ability to pay for learning and participation
in online or other courses. A key activity for the APRTC must therefore
be to develop alternative funding mechanisms. One potential solution could
involve the establishment of a scholarship fund built through the contributions
of donor and philanthropic agencies and administered by APRTC's Board.
Another is to encourage Industry and development organizations to award
these scholarships directly to candidates with whom they are involved.
To be successful, the APRTC realizes that its courses must be of the highest quality. Although research in the field is relatively scarce, practitioners are beginning to identify 'best practices' that contribute to success. Some of the more critical of these are: Objectivity/impartiality: Courses that attempt
to 'push' a particular viewpoint tend not to be well received. Instead,
online learners appreciate the opportunity to interact with the course
information to 'construct' their own opinions with the inputs of course
facilitators and classmates. This characteristic suggests that effective
online course design follow the principles of constructivism. APRTC courses
are designed with constructivist principles. Ease of access: Nothing frustrates an online
learner more than having difficulty accessing course materials. All efforts
are made in the design of APRTC courses to maximize their accessibility. Asynchronous: Two main factors are behind APRTC's
preference for asynchronous interaction. One is that the majority of APRTC's
clients speak English as a 2nd or even 3rd language. In asynchronous discussions
they have much more time to digest incoming messages and assignments and
prepare their responses. Also important is that most of these individuals
are working professionals with busy schedules. It is almost impossible
for the entire class to have free time at the same time. Content = public domain: The Web is full of
content about any subject imaginable. This information only becomes valuable
when a student is required to use and manipulate it and APRTC courses
are designed to foster this process through guided interactive activities
with classmates and facilitators. The APRTC believes that the value is
in the interaction and not the content and therefore places its content
in the public domain while protecting the knowledge generated by participants
through interactive activities. Interactivity - 3 way: Given the commitment to interactivity, APRTC courses are designed to stimulate 3 kinds of interaction - participants with the content, participants among themselves and between participants and facilitators. One strong component of many of APRTC's courses is the inclusion of simulations.
These simulations allow students to experiment with concepts that are
expensive and time-consuming to experiment with in the field, and often
conceptually confusing in the classroom. These do not pretend to be able
to accurately predict how real systems work but are meant as parallel
teaching models that can help students understand the (sometimes very
complicated) predictive models that are used in agriculture to solve specific
problems. The Internet has great power and potential for good, which we must harness to the cause of educational opportunity. We must not let information technology become a new engine of global inequality" (Gladieux, 2000). It is widely agreed that e-learning has immense potential for educational purposes in both developed and developing countries and that agriculture is a key sector for its application. Perhaps no other sector is more in need of attention and improvement, and in which strength is such a fundamental prerequisite for national economic development. But education, and the development of associated e-learning capacity, is expensive and must compete with other priority sectors for scarce financial resources. New innovative partnership arrangements must be developed to help meet the challenges. Particularly, public and private partnerships will result in the most benefits for the widest range of stakeholders. These collaborative arrangements will make education more relevant to societal and development needs and allow partnering institutions to contribute based on their respective comparative strengths. The Asia Pacific Regional Technology Centre (APRTC) and the partnerships
it is establishing provides a good example of what can be achieved through
this approach. It is spearheading a region wide collaborative network
focused on e-learning and sustainable agriculture targeting the continuing
educational needs of agricultural professionals. It brings together and
coordinates expertise and other resources from academia, the private sector
and the government and non-government development community. Initial experience
indicates that the approach works in the region, is cost effective and
that all partners, and the clients, can and do benefit from the collaboration.
Interested institutions in the region are cordially invited to learn about
and join in the Centre's activities. |