MOU with ICT FUND

Memorandum of understanding between Egypt ICT Trust Fund And Scientific Society for Telecommunication Engineers (SSTE) The purpose of this memorandum of understanding ("MOU") is to set out in board terms the basis on which Egypt ICT Trust Fund, and Scientific Society for Telecommunication Engineers (SSTE) will cooperate for the purpose of sharing facilities at both parties to develop and enhance the Poor agriculture Communities by enhancing the Agricultural information dissemination system through ICT. Description of parties Egypt ICT Trust Fund, is responsible for advocating the adoption of sustainable human development policies and supporting operational activities which demonstrate ways to create jobs, protect the environment and promote sound governance (SSTE) is responsible for benefiting farmers, their families and their communities with ICT solutions which is operated by agricultural extension .

Background New paradigms of agricultural development are fast emerging in both developing and developed countries. The overall development of rural areas is expanding in new directions. Traditional ways of delivering important services and information to citizens are currently being challenged and communities worldwide are being transformed into knowledgably societies. ICT enables the formation of knowledge societies in the rural areas of the developing world when used as a tool for providing local farming communities with scientific knowledge. However, this can only be realized when knowledge and information are effectively harvested for overall agricultural and rural development. The major challenge is to mold such vast resources into a more coherent whole. This can be achieved through establishing a clear vision about how the agricultural sector should develop in terms of ICT utilization in maximizing benefits for the farming community.

Egypt Information and Communication Technology Trust Fund was established jointly by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in January 2002. The Fund is a mechanism to create public-private partnerships to support the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in fostering socioeconomic development. The Fund's main purpose is to use ICTs to further development in Egypt by increasing awareness of its benefits, and by making it more accessible and affordable to all citizens. Through a series of coordinated initiatives such as the Mobile Information Technology Club, ICT for Special Needs, ICT for Illiteracy Eradication, Community Development Portal, ‌..etc. The Fund empowers communities by providing access to appropriate information. ICTs can open up a new world for adults and children alike, widen their horizons and increase their future opportunities.

One of the very important achievements for Egypt ICT Trust Fund is the Community Development Portal (CDP) which was developed since 2004 to promote sustainable human development, and integration of rural and urban communities into 1

the knowledge and information generation. It aims to do so through providing citizens with access to a wide range of valuable information and sources, such as Agriculture and Farming : Instructions on agriculture for fruits and crops, irrigations systems, fishing, water resources, fertilizers, soils, marketing, that help improve one's own standards of living.

The Scientific Society for Telecommunication Engineers (SSTE) is an Egyptian autonomous civil society ( Non Governmental Organization- NGO), which goes by optional and volunteering work by its members from engineers and other related people who are interested and have the desire to share. It works in the fields of scientific culture and social development ; How to best employ and utilize them in the individuals lives.

It performs its role in the Egyptian Society through many activity programs: Communication and Society affairs program, which aims to aware people about the mutual effect between the information and communication technology and the society affairs.

Honouring the person of the year program, Encouraging the scientific researches program, Training program, workshops and scientific seminars program which aims to present and identify the new technology acheivements in order to keep pace with the technology and science contest in the world.

The social work program receives a great caring from our society departing from our belief that the science and technology have a role in improving the society.

SSTE Information Society Public Initiative (ISPI) is a project to initiate and enhance the criteria of utilizing ICT for agriculture development in the country side of the governorate of Bani-Seuf . this project is to strengthen the relations between the research and national agriculture knowledge guidance system. Also it is to enhance the agriculture advice system through strengthen the relations between research and guidance to better serve the framers specially in small scale farms hence increasing their incomes.

Egypt ICT Trust Fund and SSTE wish to build the success of this agreement to Foster ICT to enhance the agricultural production and establish a sustainable agriculture resources which promotes economic development Scope ICT can help to enable extension workers to gather, store, retrieve and disseminate a broad range of information needed by farmers, thus transforming them from extension workers into knowledge workers. The emergence of such knowledge workers will result in the realizing bottom-up, demand driven technology generation, assessment, refinement and transfer. ICT can help the extension system in re-orienting itself towards the overall agricultural development of small production systems. With the appropriate knowledge, small-scale producers can even have a competitive edge over larger operations. When knowledge is harnessed by strong organizations of small producers, strategic planning can be used to provide members with least-cost inputs, better storage facilities, improved transportation links and collective negotiations with buyers. Much more coordination is required between agricultural workers, agribusiness and the professionals serving the farmer to achieve an integrated and harmonious approach.

2

SSTE: initiative intends to achieve and support merging efforts in applying ICT to operate and access agricultural development information to maximize the impact to the country side in Bani-Seuf governorate. The project proposal intends to build capacity for extension officers and farmers to leverage Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in order to disseminate best practices and lessons learnt to advance their effect on rural communities. This includes gaining access to up-to-date agricultural advisory information, and training on expanding agriculture businesses, marketing and community assistance. In addition, the project will create officers to raise awareness between farmers in identifying new developmental opportunities that can be leveraged through ICT. The overall goal is to improve the agricultural advisory services provided to Egyptian farmers to increase agricultural production alongside rural development and neverthless improving their living.

This cooperation will also assist in linking and integrating SSTE and the EGYPT ICT TRUST FUND CDP , agriculture section, to better serve Egyptian farmers. This integration will establish a coherent resource of information for rural communities development in general. The final outcome will include a one-stop shop for information immediately relevant to extension officers and farmers.

Another component of the project aims to utilize nodes from the outreach network of Egypt ICT TRUST FUND (NGOs, , Mobile IT-clubs. ) to deliver all the needed awareness sessions on how to disseminate, use and benefit from the information provided. These nodes will act as agricultural information ICT centres. The outreach network has a coverage spanning for approximately all governorates of Egypt including Bani-Seuf governorate in which the project will begin. It will also allow for the creation of efficient better connected agricultural information centres both to gather and disseminate information.

The MOU cooperation can be addressed but not limited to following benefits • Usage of CDP websites to access information relevant to agriculture and rural areas.

• Use and benefit of ICTs within the work of extension officers • Additionally, the training program should provide sufficient information regarding: a. Usage of the internet, with special attention to agricultural information; and b. Business opportunities to rural communities through ICT. • • • •

3

Supporting extension officers in accessing and finding agricultural updates and information specially in those small villages.

Facilitating interaction among researchers, extension (knowledge) workers, and farmers; Provision of early warning systems about disease/pest problems, information regarding rural development programs and crop insurances, post-harvest technology, etc.; Supplying up-to-date information to farmers as early as possible, about subjects such as packages of practices, market information, weather forecasting, input supplies, credit availability, marketing options…. etc.;

• • • • • •

Supporting farmers in exploring new opportunities to improve their productivity and marketing via ICT and the Internet; Economic development of agricultural producers.

Documenting and sharing local experiences Direct linkages between local producers, traders, retailers and suppliers; Providing information to farmers regarding farm business and management; Facilitate the sharing of infrastructures, experiences and know- how within and among communities.

Responsibilities and Parties Scientific Society for Telecommunication Engineers (SSTE) • Management, technical support, and providing the technical qualified human resources, the technical and scientific materials according to what is needed for the project and for the community at which it works.

•

Giving the needed technical and scientific consultation as much as it can and as much as it is needed for the project and for the community at which it works.

•

Disseminating information about the SSTE pilot initiatives through the SSTE website or any other websites.

Egypt ICT Trust Fund •

Nominate a member from the ICT outreach team to participate in the SSTE executive committee regarding this initiatives.

•

Share in conducting the awareness workshops between ICT Trust Fund and SSTE.

•

Nominate from 1-3 NGOs accepted by both parties in partner of ICT Trust Fund, who are working in Bani-Seuf governorate to participate in this project and benefit from its outcomes.

•

Disseminating information about the SSTE pilot initiatives through the ICT Trust Fund Community Development Portal (CDP) kennanaonline.

•

The usage of the Internet bus (Mobile IT Unit) of the ICT Trust Fund to serve this initiatives , in case of need to, in order to disseminate information about the project and to conduct the awareness sessions to the farmers in small and non-connecting villages .

Financial implications This MOU implies no financial commitment by either party. However, the organizations of both parties will communicate periodically to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information, review the technical work and products under development and produce a plan of work outlining specific areas of cooperation.

In cases where transfer of funds will occur, a Letter of Agreement will be prepared containing a detailed work plan, terms of reference, time frame, and budget and must be approved by both parties ( ICT Trust Fund and Scientific Society for Telecommunication Engineers).

4

Term and Termination • This agreement will become effective when signed by the two parties .

• The agreement will terminate automatically after one year from its effective date, but can be extended by written agreement between parties.

• All kinds of responsibilities of agreement and all project achieved results or consequences are totally and equally shared between both parties ( ICT Trust Fund and Scientific Society for Telecommunication Engineers) and both are considered to be the official representatives against/before any other organization, such like ( decretory parties, NGOs organization, Governmental organization, Grant parties, International organizations, foreigner parties ….etc.).

• Either party may terminate this agreement by providing one thirty (30) days written notice to the other party.

• In the event this agreement is terminated, each party shall be solely responsible for payment of any expenses it has incurred

5