The livelihoods of the world’s poor rise and fall with the fate of agriculture. Enhancing the ability of smallholders to connect with the knowledge, networks, and institutions necessary to improve their productivity, food security, and employment opportunities is a fundamental development challenge. Where once rural areas were largely disconnected from the greater world, today, networks of information and communication technologies (ICTs) enmesh the globe and represent a transformational opportunity for rural populations, both as producers and consumers. However, realizing this opportunity requires a long-term commitment to mobilizing appropriate resources and expertise.

This training programme is designed to support practitioners, decision-makers, and development partners who work at the intersection of ICT and agriculture. Our hope is that it becomes a practical guide in understanding current trends, implementing appropriate interventions, and evaluating the impact of those programs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course, the participants will be able to:

• Gain basic skills in ICT in agriculture.
• Appreciate the need for ICT integration in agribusiness development.
• Understand current trends in ICTs as they pertain to agriculture and the contributions that ICT can make to enhance agricultural strategies and their implementation.
• Design, implement, and evaluate appropriate and sustainable ICT components of agricultural projects.
• Build effective public and private partnerships to promote ICT access and innovation for agriculture.
• Include ICT in policy dialogue and planning with country counterparts on agricultural and rural development goals and priorities.
• Understand the application of ICT in farm production, inventory management, and marketing and in extension services.
• Gain knowledge on gender equitable skills in ICT development in agriculture which is a major player towards rural development.

DURATION

1 Week

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This course is intended for various actors in the Agriculture Extension (Agricultural extension officers, senior agricultural officials and policy makers) working with communities, in governments, funding agencies, research organizations and non-government organizations among others for agriculture support activities and other development programmes.

COURSE CONTENT

Module I: Overview of ICT for Agriculture and Rural Development

• ICT Adoption methodology, priorities, collaborators and constraints
• The economics of ICT implementation
• Innovation theory, e-Government

• Key drivers of ICT-enabled services in agriculture
• Principles of Digital Development
• Impact of mobile phones and mobile technologies on agriculture and rural development.

• Comparative advantages of ICT opportunities
• ICT constraint and solution identification, ICT alternatives 

• Tools for personal involvement in ICT adoption and implementation

Module II: ICT and Farm Management

• ICT, Farm Management and Farm Management Information Systems (MIS)
• ICT and Crop Production 
• ICT and Animal Husbandry
• Crop, agricultural inputs and process Models 
• Extending rural access to financial and insurance services through ICT

Module III: Strengthening Rural Governance, Institutions, and Collective Action with ICT

• National ICT priorities – infrastructure, standards, policies, globalization
• Potential ICT contribution to the integration of national and regional initiatives
• ICT supported services – national, regional, personal and sectoral
• National and regional connectivity issues and solutions
• Agricultural Policy 
• Agricultural Cooperation 

• Government-funded services in rural areas
• Empowering intermediary institutions with ICT

Module IV: Strengthening Agricultural Market Access with ICT Tools

• Strengthening agricultural marketing with ICT
• ICT applications for smallholder inclusion in agribusiness supply chains
• Marketing - Tracking and Traceability, production chains
• ICT applications for agricultural risk management
• Improving food safety and traceability while empowering smallholders through ICT
• Strengthening rural governance, institutions, and citizen participation using ICT
• ICT for land administration and management
• Inventory management with ICT
• Agricultural Marketing and commerce

Module V: Using ICT for Remote Sensing, Crowdsourcing, GIS, and Big Data

• Remote sensing
• Crowdsourcing and crowd mapping

• GIS and RS application in agriculture

• Big data for analytics

GENERAL NOTES

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group works and case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.