Emerging Voices in ICT and agriculture - CTA Publishing

ing and storage techniques and management
and sales skills. Specialists could be featured on
the programme, and farmers invited on to air
their views about their problems and share solutions.
A second component would be a deal with
a mobile phone operator to secure a low-cost
package offering unlimited phone calls and SMS
messages between farmers. The service could
also supply audio messages on technical issues
of interest to producers. Village information centres,
using material made available by the MCTs,
could be a useful channel for making knowledge
on key issues available to rural communities. The
centres would cover a wide range of subjects
and would make use of a variety of media,
including posters and videos.
farmers to connect with each other, as well as
with local radio and MCTs. Producers could buy
second-hand computers and use freely downloadable
software. The system could be powered
by solar panels in areas with no access to electricity.
Support from government and NGOs
would be crucial to ensuring the success of these
initiatives, but the opportunity of using ICTs to
provide real benefits to rural producers is one
that should not be missed.
Based on the original essay:
“Comment les TIC peuvent-elles être utilisées
pour améliorer l’accès au marché des produits
agricoles au Cameroun?” by Gabriel Dacko Goudjo.
A virtual salon
A third initiative would be an Internet platform
offering a geo-referenced database, using GIS,
voice, data and video in a virtual community
salon, staffed by someone well-informed in both
agriculture and ICTs, who would help producers
to explore the Internet and all it has to offer them.
Once these three initiatives have been up and
running for 3 years, and producers have become
familiar with using ICTs, a community WIFI network
for rural areas could be launched. This lowcost
service, which can be made with local materials
such as old sardine cans, would enable
Shaping the future of ACP rural development using ICTs... 25 |