How are ICT services boosting agricultural value chains? How can we establish a dynamic and enabling environment where ICTs for agriculture can flourish? Starting tomorrow on November 4 to 8, topics such as ICTs and value chains, advocacy and policy development will be discussed in Kigali, Rwanda, thereby assessing the impact of ICTs on farming, fisheries and livestock.
Find all video reports at ict4ag.org/video-reports.
[…] Agriculturalists are coming together, sharing common problems, learning experiences, interests and aspirations. They are collaborating online to generate maps and online applications that are used in monitoring events, the spread of agricultural pests or even to track commodity prices. In Rwanda different initiatives like e-soko, AMIS and other related ICT applications are being used and are helping farmers and other key actors in the sector to do business more efficiently and effectively.
This conference has brought together different stakeholders in the fields of ICT, agriculture and rural development. Building on ongoing initiatives and the ever increasing mobile applications and use of the Internet, I appeal to all the participants to use this opportunity to forge new and strong partnerships, including public-private partnerships, in the advancement and greater use of ICT in agriculture to speed up economic and social transformation.
The conference should come up with recommendations on practical ways towards a more widespread accessibility of ICTs to smallholder farmers, youth and women. […]
Dr. Agnes Matilda Kalibata, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda
The conference agenda is divided into the following streams:
| Emerging Innovations | Capacity Strengthening | Enabling Environments
Among the Conference Speakers are Brenda Nglazi Zulu – journalist and Media consultant specialized in Information Communication Technology Issues; Stephen Tembo – District Veterinary Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Zambia; Catherine Molua Mojoko – President at Walana Wa Makwasi Women CIG, Cameroon; Kiringai Kamau – Value Chain Analyst and Knowledge Specialist at VACID Africa in Kenya; and many more.
One of the key activities running in parallel to the conference is a “hackathon” with focus on the agricultural sector: The “Agri-Hack Championship”.
You can follow up on conference news and alerts via twitter with #ICT4Ag13 or at the conference hackathon rss feed.
Conference Website: ict4ag.org
African Perspectives 