"Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture" and embarked on e-learning modules for basic and advanced agricultural practices. Lifelines India (Soochana se Samadhan), uses a phone-based platform and a web-based interface to respond to the agricultural information needs of small-scale Indian farmers. By so doing, it bridges the information gap that currently prevents them from leveraging sustainable and efficient farming methods, integrating with global markets and improving the quality of their lives.
     Another innovative program is the Village Knowledge Centers set up in 1998 by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in 22 villages in southern India. Two major fea­tures of the project were the development of Tamil language Software and gender sensitivity in assessing the information needs of local people. The National E-Governance Action Plan of the Government of India has emphasized community computer and internet kiosks in rural areas. For example, in the state of Tamil Nadu alone, 600 rural kiosks are func­tioning to deliver services such as health care, education, agriculture and communication (voice mail and e-mail). Most of these kiosks are run by self-employed entrepreneurs and NGOs; but women SHGs are increasingly beginning to manage them. However, existing social and cultural norms can be a major obstacle to the diffusion of such IT knowl­edge. Recent research in Tamil Nadu noted that although the technology itself may be gender-neutral, women often lack the literacy, time, decision-making power and financial resources to fully avail themselves of the kiosk services (Best and Maier, 2007).
     A last example from Thailand involves the struggle against the forced relocation of Akha villagers in Huay Mahk village of Northern Thailand in 2000. The problems of this isolated people were communicated via internet to mobilize support and the villagers were able to retain their homes, lands and forests, thereby avoiding the drugs, crime and poverty cycle that has affected other relocated commu­nities in the region (Satyawadhana, 2001).

5.3.7.2   Challenges The biggest barrier to regional knowledge networking is the lack of de facto standards for information sharing and data exchange. This barrier will need to be eliminated if technology transfer and sharing of best management prac­tices across the region is to be facilitated for the common good at a relatively low investment from any given country. Knowledge-based products, services and systems will need to be coordinated and integrated into usable formats such as: information, education and communications materials (publications and instructional materials at the community level—flyers,   primers,  technology   bulletin);   information management services  (database  and subject information networks); and documented records of local knowledge in the form of stories, case studies and plays.
     In pursuing the fruits that ICT offers, it is important that farmers' information needs are not overshadowed by technological enthusiasm  (Meera, 2004).  Although they function within the dominant interests of the market and the state, ICT can help redefine traditional, social, cultural and gender norms within the region and support a media of information, understanding and knowledge in which interests, voices and rights of the rural poor, women and

excluded social groups are taken into account, but only if they are equitably and widely disseminated (Kelkar et al., 2005; Ng and Mitter, 2005; Patel, 2006). Initiatives such as those described above provide models which are well worth pursuing throughout the ESAP region.

5.4      Technologies: Options for Achieving Development and Sustainability Goals
It is important to recognize that there is no one ideal ag-ronomic/forestry/aquaculture system. For instance, modern best practice guidelines for conventional production sys­tems advise the full use of all indigenous fertility sources (composts, crop residues and animal manures), with min­eral fertilizers employed as a complement to bridge deficits between crop needs and indigenous supplies (http://www. knowledgebank.irri.org/ssnm/). The ideal agricultural sys­tem may be context-dependent, combining elements of tra­ditional, organic, conventional and emerging practices and technologies in a locality and constraint-specific manner to maintain food security and improve micronutrient content of food with minimal adverse environmental consequences and maximum improvement in social inclusiveness. One mitigation strategy to cope with climate change-induced variability and extreme events is to increase the resilience of agricultural systems (Scheffer et al., 2001) through crop diversification, shifts to low input, no-till or organic agri­culture where possible and the use of crop species and va­rieties that can withstand extreme weather conditions. The integrated use of inorganic fertilizers, green manures and organic materials has been proven to increase productiv­ity and yield stability for a variety of vegetable and grain crops over that attained from using only inorganic or only organic inputs (Kanwar and Rego, 1995; Tandon, 1995; Sa-tyanarayana et al., 2002; Paul et al., 2005; Chatterjee et al., 2006; Singh, 2006; The et al., 2006).
     While organic inputs are desirable, significant trade-offs need to be contended with and addressed when considering policy options that favor such inputs. For example, replac­ing inorganic fertilizer with manure or a combination of ma­nure and compost at recommended rates for rice generally presupposes the availability of close to 10 tonnes ha-1 of the manure and compost. Further, manure is generally subject to competing uses throughout much of the rural ESAP re­gion: more used in the field generally means less available as cooking fuel. Similarly, green manures are an excellent way to add organic matter and nutrients to the soil; how­ever, such a cover crop requires sufficient land holdings to dedicate to a non-food or cash crop and is too often not a practicality for small holders or subsistence farmers.
     The integration of local knowledge and socioecological context in the design of agricultural technology are critical if sustainability and efficiency are to be attained and techno­logical interventions are to succeed. A clearer understanding of various traditional or organic systems would be valuable, enabling the utilization of this knowledge to develop more sustainable production systems for use by future farmers. In contrast with the knowledge systems generated by uni­versities, research institutions and private firms, indigenous knowledge is usually seen as residing locally within the farming community where it is applicable, with transfer of knowledge from farmer to farmer rather than scientist and