XplanaZine

Despite bad roads, collapsing phone lines, and intermittent electricity in isolated, rural locations in Azerbaijan, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded agricultural credit project, CredAgro, is using weblogs in conjunction with e-mail and very basic websites in order to provide distance training and to provide mission-critical information transfer in ways that were undreamed of just months ago.
While the wired “Western” world is accustomed to rapid transfer of information and high-bandwidth collaborative tools, it’s pretty astonishing to pull it off in remote regions in the former Soviet Union. All you have to do is spend one long, dark, cold night in February or March in a house that has neither gas nor electricity to realize how tempting it is to succumb to, if not absolutely hopelessness, a kind of spiritual malaise that tempts one to do nothing beyond hang out at the local chai-hana (tea house), sip tea and smoke cheap Russian-made cigarettes. Such a life sounds attractively Bohemian for a day or two. However, it wears off quickly, leaving a burning desire to join the brain drain and get the heck out of Lenkoran, Zagatala, Tovuz, Khachmaz, or any other small, isolated post-Soviet agricultural community sharing the same fate.
CredAgro offers hope to small and medium agricultural enterprises by providing credit, business plan consulting services, and technical support. Established in June 2000 with $3 million of loan capital funding as well as startup and operations expenses, CredAgro began immediately make a difference in small communities. Loans and technical assistance were provided to a wide range of projects, including crop production, food production, transportation, packaging, warehousing, distribution, animal husbandry, wool processing, wholesale and retail operations. Think apples, cows, yogurt, cherry juice, strawberry preserves, cattle feed, sheep, hand-loomed wool rugs, tea leaves, eggs, turkeys, honey, tomato paste - the list goes on and on.
Despite the challenges inherent in meshing state-of-the-art Internet applications with antique telecommunications equipment inherited from the Soviet era, USAID has been very supportive of such attempts. William D. McKinney, who heads the Azerbaijan mission, has pointed out on many occasions that such innovative approaches can eventually save time, improve efficiencies, and establish the country as a model that can be followed in other regions.
After two years of steady growth and expansion, CredAgro had, at the beginning of 2003, nine separate branch offices, located in the capital city of Baku, as well as in remote regions accessible only by car or jeep, some over rutted, dark, dangerous roads subject to flash flood, fog, and avalanches.
Despite their distance from each other, it was vital that all branches standardize procedures, train new employees, and share information. Faxes and telephone calls were virtually the only way to communicate until recently, when Internet access became available in many of the communities. Although expensive and slow, dial-up access promises new approaches. However, the bandwidth hogging applications common in the U.S. are absolutely unworkable in Azerbaijan.
CredAgro is solving the problem with weblogs. Using free space provided by blogger.com on blogspot, Credagro has just launched a weblog that will enable all nine regions to post information, news, financial information, and more. Further, by providing links to files housed on a central ftp server, the regions will be able to download updates and information without having to make the seven-hour drive to Baku. CredAgro’s first blog is located at http://cred-agro.blogspot.com Although CredAgro opted to start their blogging venture with a stripped-down version, they will expand as they Internet service becomes more reliable. The weblogs will also allow standardized Internet-enhanced training.
To complement the collaborative aspects of the weblog, CredAgro has also launched a website. The website is for general information dissemination, and will include financial information, a downloadable copy of the annual report, images from the regional offices, and contact information. The website will also house a library of technical documents, application forms, business plan wizards, and other valuable resources. Again, the first version of the website is provided by a free service.
Eldar Jafarov, CredAgro’s director, is optimistic about the future uses of weblogs. Although there will be something of a learning curve as the individuals in the regions are exposed to the Internet for the first time, Jafarov has expressed confidence in the ability of CredAgro employees to quickly adopt the “appropriate technology” manner in which Internet-assisted learning and operations will be taking place.