making ict work for the rural poor
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by Michael Riggs of FAO, 17 May 2012, in the Bangladesh country session at the WSIS Forum 2012. The session was sponsored by Katalyst Bangladesh.TRANSCRIPT
MAKING ICT WORKFOR THE RURAL POOR
Michael RiggsKnowledge and Capacity for DevelopmentOffice of Knowledge Exchange Research and Extension
Development Disasters - 1
Development Disasters - 2
Mobile Technology
Mobile phones are the success story of bridging the rural digital divide,
bringing tangible economic benefits and acting asagents of social mobilization
through improved communication.
Agricultural Value Chains
ICTs play an important role in agricultural value chains.
However, many rural farmers stilldo not have access to or the capacity to use ICT.
Individual expense prioritization oftendoes not rank agricultural information highly.
Gender, Agriculture and ICT
Women play an important role in agriculture,comprising 43% of agricultural labor globally.
Yet they have less access toagricultural information, extension services, and
ICTs.Close gender gap,
increase farm yields 20-30%.
Statistics from FAO SOFA 2010-11
Female farmer produce less
They are not less efficient…
…they use fewer inputs.
Challenges
Working for the Poor Agricultural Information Services
Relevance Affordability
Mobile network Agricultural information
Accessibility: visual content Prioritize Gender Issues
Strategic focus on women
Thank you
Michael Riggs
@mongkolroek
www.fao.org
@e_agriculture
www.e-agriculture.org