1. Food Monitoring System (FMS) Madagascar RANDRIANASOLO Fidy Nirina Commodity Manager CRS.MG March 20, 2013 ICT4D Conference Accra, Ghana Mobile Services that Empower Vulnerable Communities

2. Plan of presentation: - Project Background - Context and issues in food management - ICT4D solution - Keys of successes - Challenges - What we learned

3. Project Background GOAL : Reduce food insecurity in 98.500 households by 2014 SO1: Improve the nutrition and health status of 96.000 children under five SO2:Improve livelihood conditions of 82.000 food insecure households SO3:Strengthen resilience of 592 communities Cross – Cutting : Gender, Environmental management, Governance and Partnership Intervention Zones : 592 Communities, in 112 communes, 21 Districts, and 7 Regions in Madagascar Consortium 04 INGOs: CRS -ADRA-CARE-LOL Implementing Partners : 5 Dioceses, and 15 Social Protection Centers

4. FOOD DISTRIBUTION ACTIVITIES  27,170 MT food for distribution  Three sectors concerned: Mother and Child Health (MCH) under SO1; Food for Assets (FFA) and Safenet for Urban areas under SO3;  Four types of food for direct distribution Summary for CRS food distribution:

5. * Food delivery serving the most vulnerable families in remote and landlocked areas * Worked with Implementing partners (local NGOs) * Committed with local carriers * Supply chain managed from 3 main warehouses to sites * Challenges to monitor the supply chain and quality of program indecisive * Decision making difficult due to the lateness(more than one month) or inaccurate of information from the field * Challenges in communication between main office and field staff Context

6. ICT4D Solution: Implementation of Food Monitoring System(FMS) with Human Network International (HNI)

7. Keys successes Roll-out  Roll-out with all staff involved, and gave them capacity in drafting/sending message by SMS communication  Systematic communication with field staff through administrator monitor  Permanente checking of FMS to monitor the movement of food, and distribution Data analysis  Data analysis to help management team for systematic information and/or decision report  Summarize data for editing report required by the donor  Internal Control System

8. Challenges access reports  Datasenders have access reports based on dashboard information linked  FMS is a data collection system, and needs to be linked with other database used by M&E/ procurement. end-use checking supervision  For Compliance issues, need to perform end-use checking to confirm that data is really accurate and well documented. Need good supervision

9. Lessons Learned  Service delivery improved  Service delivery improved : Quick response in case of threat  Canal of communication  Canal of communication available with field staff Quality of reports improved  Quality of reports improved: Involvement of technicians and support team Appropriate decision made  Appropriate decision made: information available in one day, and detailed for decision making

10. Sustainability strategy trained  Implementing Partners including local NGO trained to use it. collect data in various activities:  Use of the system to collect data in various activities: End-use Checking at recipients level, Warning system for emergency program, Monitoring of local market price, Monitoring of actions in environment issues  Share  Share our experiences on it in large diffusion

11. Food Monitoring System or FMS is a tool based on the use of SMS and internet and that can help to increase efficiency, provide timely and accurate data to improve decision making in term of food distribution:  Increases our capacity to monitor our activities, the quality of report to donors, and the service delivery to beneficiary  Helps for decision making  Enhances the impact in the life of recipients that we serve focus of our mission As a reminder…