ACT participates in the ICT4Ag Conference in Kigali - Rwanda

ACT Participates In The ICT4Ag Conference In Kigali - Rwanda

The ICT4Ag conference organised by CTA from 4-8 November 2013 in Kigali Rwanda, brought together over 400 participants from around the globe together, ranging from Application developers, programmers, policy makers, farmers, ministers and development practitioners whose discussions and deliberations focused on the role that ICTs can play in transforming agriculture.

Rwanda the host country has been commended for it’s efforts to embrace ICTs for development. The conference started with a plug and play day that saw young programmers and developers showcasing a wide range of both web and mobile applications for agriculture. The applications catered for many agricultural needs like receiving market prices, monitoring gestation periods of cows and mapping among others. The Plug & play day at *alone saw over 300 people getting to know a range of *#Mobile apps and *#ICTs approaches

[Play Video: http://vimeo.com/78593726#]

During the official opening ceremony of the conference, Mr. Michael Hailu, the Director of CTA, acknowledged the role that ICTs can play in improving agriculture productivity and therefore food security. He emphasized CTA’s commitment to working with a number of stakeholders to encourage the use and application of ICTs in Agriculture within the ACP region. With the private sector increasing its investment in agriculture, there is an opportunity and promising future for farmers, he added. The Minister for Agriculture in Rwanda, Hon Agnes Kalibata says that in Rwanda, in the last 6 years alone, the country moved from having 5% of population with Telephones to 65%. Agriculture is very crucial not only for farmers but for the entire nation because it still remains the biggest employer and contributor to GDP asserted Ambassador Valentine Sendayoye.

[Play Video: http://vimeo.com/78668576]

ACT participated by presenting a paper during the Session 25: Implementation of ICT for Development Strategies in Agriculture with the paper titled "Effectiveness of ICT based Engagement Processes and Partnership building for Integrated Soil Fertility Management."

Conclusion

The ICT4Ag conference proved that ICTs are and can enable people especially farmers who were once excluded from vital information to increasingly use technology, especially cell phones, to advance their own well-being and that of their families. This technological revolution is helping to boost local economies, bringing information to remote corners of the continent, and save lives. However, if farmers and agricultural practitioners are to benefit from ICTs, whether traditional or new, they must link the use of technology tools to development. Only then will the true impact of this huge potential be felt, and change realized. The conference was a great way to showcase what ICTs can do to improve agricultural productivity, increase sales and make the continent food secure through access to relevant and timely information.

For more details about the ICT4Ag conference, please visit: http://www.ict4ag.org/en/