Digital training and reporting tools for peasant family farming in rural Andean areas of Ecuador

The impact of climate change cuts across daily life. It is vital that people learn about its effects and how to face these challenges to ensure resilience in the rural areas of the Andes. The Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES), with the support of the Andes Resilient project, has promoted a mobile app and a web platform to deliver face-to-face training for family farmers in rural Andean areas of Ecuador. These tools can be used without an internet connection.

The Economic Inclusion Schools managed by the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES) provide a series of face-to-face training courses that enable access to the Human Development Credit (CDH), a benefit granted to communities living in poverty to stimulate productive activities.

The courses are geared to motivating families to define the type of enterprise they will start and other ideas necessary to realise their business idea. The MIES in addition provides permanent training for users of the Human Development Voucher (BDH) who have allocated their money to productive, agricultural and livestock or small animal breeding enterprises.

Ninety per cent of family enterprises that have applied for the Human Development Voucher are linked to peasant family farming and 70 per cent of the applicants are women. In view of this, the Andes Resilient project supported the MIES Knowledge Management Department to develop a mobile app for Android that works without an internet connection, so that family farmers can access the training they need to take as a requirement to obtain the Human Development Voucher.

These information technology tools will help rural people to access training, which is often not possible for reasons of distance and time, on topics such as adaptation measures for Andean crops or ground frost management technologies, and other tools that will enable them to strengthen their knowledge, capacities and skills. The direct users of these tools will be mostly people living in poverty, who will be able to access human development credits and vouchers to improve their quality of life and move out of poverty. To date, the mobile app and the web page (in progress), can generate reports from users who access the training and maintain closer follow-up with them.

In the third quarter of 2022, SDC will hold a campaign to disseminate and raise awareness about the use of these digital tools among family farmers in the Andean regions.

About Andes Resilient to Climate Change

Andes Resilient to Climate Change is a regional project supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and facilitated by the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation (Fundación Avina) consortium in partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and in alliance with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Andes Resilient is part of SDC’s Global Climate Change and Environment Programme.

Source: Andes Resilient to Climate Change

For further information:
Brochure Andes Resilient to Climate Change Regional Project (spanish)
FS Andes Resilient to Climate Change Regional Project (english)
Brochure Andes Resilient to Climate Change Regional Project – Ecuador (spanish)
Facebook Andes Resilient to Climate Change Regional Project