Bolivian Farmers Test PDAs to Speed Up Organic Certification

Extension workers from AUTAPO are sent to farmers in the Bolivian Highlands (Altiplano) with a PDA. They use the device to collect information that was previously collected on paper. By using the PDA, the extension workers ask farmers questions such as:

• 'Do you grow your crops organically, traditionally or are you in a transition phase?’,
• 'How many of your parcels are currently left fallow?’
• 'How was the drought in your area in the year 2010?'

The answers are entered in the PDA and uploaded to Fundacion Autapo’s headquarters’ computers. Because data can be collected and entered faster and more accurately into Fautapo’s system than by using paper, it helps farmers to receive organic certification faster.

GPS

When visiting farmers, extension workers also use the GPS features of their device. They use the GPS to tag the corners of the field by foot or motorbike. This makes it easier to identify the exact location and calculate the size of the fields. 

Three goals

The purpose of collecting the data is threefold:

• it helps to show the productivity of farmers
• provides information about soil management
• increases the chances for farmers to receive organic certification.

If for instance, the farmer’s organisation sees that the land is not left fallow, they can provide advice.

Easy to use

The extension workers find the system easy to use. It is based on an open source data collecting program called Cyber Tracker. In Africa the system is used by park rangers to monitor the amount of wildlife in a specific area. They type in how many animals they see, and any other relevant data. This is then linked automatically to the GPS so that it can show the exact area on the map which the ranger covered that day. It only took a day for the local developers in Bolivia to alter the system and another day to train the extension workers.