ICT for rural development

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ICT for rural development

• (ICT for Advocacy)Questions are welcome as we
  go along

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First of all, what is ICT.?

• ICT is the abbreviation for Information and
  Communication Technologies.
• When we talk about ICT it generally covers three
  main areas telecommunications (especially
  telephone communications), broadcasting (radio
  and TV) and the internet.
• The internet is the international computer
  network of networks that connect government,
  academic and business institutions.
• Emails are messages that are sent electronically
  via computer networks typically the internet.

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Why is ICT important

• Besides the obvious benefits of introducing ICT
  into an organisation, there are additional
  advantages in relation to using ICT for
  development and advocacy. These includes amongst
  others
• Enhanced visibility, networking potential and
  communication with partners, members, donors and
  others.
• Improved transparency and accessibility of
  information.
• More efficient research, data gathering and
  processing, improving studies and surveys.
• Allowing for distance learning and education on
  both a national and an international scale.

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What is the digital divide?

• Simply put, the "digital divide" is the wide
  division between those who have access to ICT and
  are using it effectively, and those who do not.
• Since ICTs are increasingly becoming a foundation
  of our societies and economies, the digital
  divide means that the information "have-nots" are
  denied the option to participate in new ICT jobs,
  in e-government, in ICT-improved healthcare, and
  in ICT-enhanced education.
• More often than not, the information "have-nots"
  are in developing countries, and in disadvantaged
  groups within countries.

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The digital divide faced by rural areas

• By its very nature, ICT development tends to
  increase income inequality within a country for
  several reasons
• it requires relatively good education and special
  skills to make full use of ICT.
• ICT infrastructure is more profitable and
  therefore easier to develop in urban areas, thus
  further broadening the gap between urban and
  rural access to ICT.
• Those who developed widely used ICT applications
  are mainly from urban areas who could reap
  benefits from being first in tapping the ICT
  market in the country.

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The digital divide within DENIVAs members

• During DENIVAs Annual General Meeting in 2004,
  we distributed some questionnaires related to the
  members implementation of ICT.
• The results showed that there was a digital
  divide within the membership.
• Half of the organisations that returned the
  questionnaire are utilising computers in their
  office, and around 22 have Internet as well. It
  is clear that many organisations are using the
  Internet even if they do not have access from
  their office, since 60 of the MOs have an email
  account.
• The most common number of computers was one,
  though a few had 10 and above. More than half of
  the MOs that had several computers did not have a
  network to utilise the computers more
  effectively.

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ICT can still work for rural development.

• Notwithstanding the inequality bias, ICT has
  potential to improve the livelihoods of
  low-income earners by enhancing delivery of
  socio-economic services, offering them
  opportunities to increase income and empowering
  them through participation in decision making
  processes
• Enhance communication potential at lower costs.
• Improved transparency and accessibility of
  information.
• Allowing for distance learning and education on
  both a national and an international scale.

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Let us look more closely at the possibilities of
the Internet

• Communication E-mail is the most common use of
  the Internet. Your organization can have a unique
  e-mail address that allows people to send and
  receive messages from others. You can save on
  long-distance phone and fax charges and not worry
  about the time differences and busy schedules
  that sometimes hinder communicating with others.
• Publishing If your organization publishes
  newsletters, brochures, special reports, or other
  printed documents, you can publish them on the
  Internet. You can reach a potentially unlimited
  audience, without having to pay for postage and
  printing costs, update addresses, or do
  time-consuming mailings. Internet publishing does
  not substitute for traditional paper publishing,
  but it can expand your audience at a very low
  marginal cost.

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The Internet gives a Wealth of Possibilities
(continued..1)

• Research Various tools are available to help
  people do research on the Internet. The amount of
  such information is astounding. To sort through
  it all and select what is potentially most
  relevant, powerful "search engines" have been
  developed that automatically search millions of
  Web sites when a person types in a keyword or
  phrase (Google, Yahoo etc.).
• Fundraising and Marketing Many organizations use
  the Internet to research funding opportunities,
  requests for proposals, and other means of
  raising money. Others have what is called a
  "presence" on the Web, a website that presents
  general information in an attractive format, to
  supplement their brochures and other marketing.

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The Internet gives a Wealth of Possibilities
(continued..2)

• Teaching and Training Schools, NGOs, and others
  are now using the Internet to expand their
  distance learning programs. Some offer formal
  courses with mandatory assignments that offer
  academic credits others are less formal. A few
  examples include classes for health workers on
  how to process, submit, and access health
  statistics advanced training for teachers on the
  latest pedagogical research and online
  "agricultural extension" for farmers.

Let us now see how ICT can be used
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Foodnet Market Information Service in Uganda

• Foodnet MIS, Uganda is a project developed by
  International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
  (IITA) in association with National Agricultural
  Advisory Services (NAADS).
• In Kampala, daily crop prices are collected by a
  marketing agent from the three main markets and
  from the main abattoir. Weekly price data is
  collected from market centres in 23 districts.
  Information from the districts is sent via post
  office fax services, e-mail (mainly from Internet
  cafes) or via SMS. Once data is received by
  Foodnet in Kampala it is analysed and entered
  into a database. Subsequently it is disseminated
  to stakeholders via fax, e-mail, SMS and to the
  vast majority of small-scale farmers, through
  local radio. Timely information is uploaded to
  the website http//www.ugandamarkets.com/, and
  published in newspapers.

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Foodnet the impact

• With the introduction of the Foodnet, farmers can
  now send an SMS enquiring about the price of a
  certain commodity and they can get an instant
  reply with the most up to date market price. It
  is a very valuable tool for farmers who need to
  get market prices immediately and cannot wait for
  weekly Saturday radio broadcast. A survey
  elaborated by Foodnet found that most people
  still use radio broadcasts to get updates on
  prices and market information, but SMS is
  catching up very fast as the mobile phones spread
  around the rural areas.
• Furthermore, farmers have access to information
  about market prices beyond their markets,
  including the regional level, and they are
  therefore in a better position to bargain for
  higher prices for their commodities.

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Why do certain groups needs attention for
example the women?

• Social and cultural norms that constrain womens
  mobility and access to resources are also
  obstacles to participation online
• Women comprise between 30 and 50 percent of
  students in computer science and other natural
  sciences in a number of developing countries.
  Africa remains the area of greatest concern,
  however, as African women have the lowest
  participation rates in the world in science and
  technology education at all levels

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And the list continues, of marginalised people in
Uganda

• The poor
• People with HIV/AIDS
• People with disabilities
• The elderly

• Who else?

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Where to start the change?

• Government leadership is a key element in making
  ICT work for the rural poor. Studies in India,
  Malaysia and Thailand found that governments have
  an important role in creating an enabling
  environment for ICT expansion in rural areas.
• Encourage collaboration among governments,
  development organizations, NGOs and other
  stakeholders in finding solutions to the common
  problem of reducing rural poverty through
  application of appropriate ICT services in rural
  areas.
• Development of national ICT strategies for rural
  poverty alleviation is required, as there is no
  single solution or best ICT project to fit all
  rural situations, a variety of approaches would
  be needed. Understanding how ICT can service
  specific development goals requires both
  knowledge of appropriate technologies and how
  these technologies could be operationalized to
  address socio-economic goals in rural areas.
• Strategies to improve access to ICT and the
  Internet should include liberalizing local
  telecommunication markets to foster competition
  and creating a supportive legal and institutional
  environment to encourage investment in ICT

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Finally, some free tools that can benefit your
organisation

• Free software enables NGOs to keep a record of
  their members in a database (see
  http//organizersdb.org/home).
• Free databases helps resource-centres to keep a
  record of their books and magazines. As an
  example, DENIVA uses Win Isis, which can be found
  on UNESCOs website.
• Build a free website in just a few hours and be
  visible on the Internet (see http//www.tripod.lyc
  os.com/)
• Other free software includes antivirus program to
  protect again harmful programmes (see
  http//www.free-av.com) and office packages
  (similar to Microsoft Office, see
  http//www.openoffice.org) amongst others.

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Questions?