Since the advent of the world wide web(www) way back in the late 1980s, the world was pretty much like an enclosed box with very minimal meaningful interactions taking place between people in the same villages let alone in a global context. Farmers in places like Africa basically engaged in the traditional barter trade system which involved at times travelling over long distances in search of a commodity that one was interested in in order to exchange for it and even that, they had to find someone who was also looking for the same commodity being sold or exchanged.
The other unique thing about Africa in the agricultural sector, is that, much of what is cultivated by many farmers like corn, potatoes and other serials, were actually introduced by early missionaries and erstwhile colonial governments and since then, very little in the form of diversification of the crops has actually happened. This has left the farmers with very little choices considering the fact that these same foods are actually staple in these areas and as such the people would be reluctant to try something different that could probably maximize on the available resources and boost their food security and nutrition.
This enclosed system also meant that during a bumper harvest season, the farmer could only preserve so much in their stores while the remaining harvest going to waste due to such factors as pests and diseases or simply rotting.
These are some of the challenges that a traditional farmer went through and are still experienced by some who are still locked up as it were in different parts of the world where there's very minimal information flow or government intervention for that matter.
The Information and communication technology pretty much gained momentum in the early 2000s especially with the inventions that came up from various ICT players like Google with their search engine, Microsoft and ipad ans iphones that revolutionized the way information is transmitted. Later on, other developments picked up like the web2 and now web4 where people are no longer just the traditional consumers of information, but with the Wikipedia, blogs, social media and the like gaining momentum, everyone with any information to share has tools to publish and thus becoming both the consumer and publisher.
As part of this technological growth and innovation, agriculture has seen tremendous benefits and still continuous to develop and evolve owing to the drive by engineers and ICT technologies to come up with various tools, applications and products on agriculture which some are free for download, while others are obtained at a small fee.
Farmers groups in remote places in Africa and the developing world, have been able to develop websites where they showcase their products to a wider market beyond their traditional country or village boundaries thus boosting their profits and improving their livelihoods. Other organizations like FAO and the World bank have set up websites with lots and lots of information from case-studies conducted in different parts of the world concerning the trends in agriculture and issues concerning natural resource management and climate change.
These resources have equipped the farmers with the necessary information especially concerning the effects of global warming thus cushioning them from the negatives impacts of such an occurrence like erratic weather patterns and drought. This has helped in avoiding wastage from crop destruction while at the same time, helping farmers embrace new technologies in the form of drought resistant crop varieties and modern farm management practices.
Technologies like global positioning system(GPS) and geographical information system(GIS), have helped especially large scale farmers engage in what is known as 'smart agriculture' where decisions are based on the locations of issues like the distribution of parasites and diseases thus avoiding random application of farm inputs that not only leads to wastage but also pollution.
Young people have also taken the challenge to innovate agriculture by designing mobile applications running on Android, Symbian and other mobile devices that help farmers interact effectively. The mobile money transfer in Kenya has also gained global plaudits and recognition for revolutionizing the way people do business. A farmer can now purchase fertilizer or receive payments from their produces using the popular Mpesa money transfer technology.
The list of the ICT impacts on agriculture are immense and if the current trend in technological development is anything to go by, we are yet to see amazing innovations that are mind boggling.
In conclusion, the developments in the ICT sector as far as agriculture is concerned would also require a comprehensive policy framework that will guide these developments by setting up standards and procedures that will harmonies all the other sectors including land tenure systems that directly affects agriculture. All the stakeholders in the agricultural sector especially the farmers also ought to be involved if possible at every step of the design and the innovation in order to boost their relevance and also focus on existing problems that affect the sector or individual unique scenarios. This will ensure that the end products are customised based on the needs and demand.
The other unique thing about Africa in the agricultural sector, is that, much of what is cultivated by many farmers like corn, potatoes and other serials, were actually introduced by early missionaries and erstwhile colonial governments and since then, very little in the form of diversification of the crops has actually happened. This has left the farmers with very little choices considering the fact that these same foods are actually staple in these areas and as such the people would be reluctant to try something different that could probably maximize on the available resources and boost their food security and nutrition.
This enclosed system also meant that during a bumper harvest season, the farmer could only preserve so much in their stores while the remaining harvest going to waste due to such factors as pests and diseases or simply rotting.
These are some of the challenges that a traditional farmer went through and are still experienced by some who are still locked up as it were in different parts of the world where there's very minimal information flow or government intervention for that matter.
The Information and communication technology pretty much gained momentum in the early 2000s especially with the inventions that came up from various ICT players like Google with their search engine, Microsoft and ipad ans iphones that revolutionized the way information is transmitted. Later on, other developments picked up like the web2 and now web4 where people are no longer just the traditional consumers of information, but with the Wikipedia, blogs, social media and the like gaining momentum, everyone with any information to share has tools to publish and thus becoming both the consumer and publisher.
As part of this technological growth and innovation, agriculture has seen tremendous benefits and still continuous to develop and evolve owing to the drive by engineers and ICT technologies to come up with various tools, applications and products on agriculture which some are free for download, while others are obtained at a small fee.
Farmers groups in remote places in Africa and the developing world, have been able to develop websites where they showcase their products to a wider market beyond their traditional country or village boundaries thus boosting their profits and improving their livelihoods. Other organizations like FAO and the World bank have set up websites with lots and lots of information from case-studies conducted in different parts of the world concerning the trends in agriculture and issues concerning natural resource management and climate change.
These resources have equipped the farmers with the necessary information especially concerning the effects of global warming thus cushioning them from the negatives impacts of such an occurrence like erratic weather patterns and drought. This has helped in avoiding wastage from crop destruction while at the same time, helping farmers embrace new technologies in the form of drought resistant crop varieties and modern farm management practices.
Technologies like global positioning system(GPS) and geographical information system(GIS), have helped especially large scale farmers engage in what is known as 'smart agriculture' where decisions are based on the locations of issues like the distribution of parasites and diseases thus avoiding random application of farm inputs that not only leads to wastage but also pollution.
Young people have also taken the challenge to innovate agriculture by designing mobile applications running on Android, Symbian and other mobile devices that help farmers interact effectively. The mobile money transfer in Kenya has also gained global plaudits and recognition for revolutionizing the way people do business. A farmer can now purchase fertilizer or receive payments from their produces using the popular Mpesa money transfer technology.
The list of the ICT impacts on agriculture are immense and if the current trend in technological development is anything to go by, we are yet to see amazing innovations that are mind boggling.
In conclusion, the developments in the ICT sector as far as agriculture is concerned would also require a comprehensive policy framework that will guide these developments by setting up standards and procedures that will harmonies all the other sectors including land tenure systems that directly affects agriculture. All the stakeholders in the agricultural sector especially the farmers also ought to be involved if possible at every step of the design and the innovation in order to boost their relevance and also focus on existing problems that affect the sector or individual unique scenarios. This will ensure that the end products are customised based on the needs and demand.
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