Application of Information Communication Technologies in the Agricultural Sector in Africa: a Gender Perspective with Special Reference to Women

African Women and Economic Development: Investing In Our Future
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
28 April - 1 May 1998

Application of Information Communication Technologies in the Agricultural Sector in Africa: a Gender Perspective with Special Reference to Women

SUMMARY

Although agriculture is the backbone of the economies of most African countries, development in this sector has not grown as fast as the population. Women in Sub Saharan Africa are the key actors in agriculture; and produce about 80% of the region’s food. Men and women suffer similar problems, but these seem to affect women more adversely. The major problems include cultural, social, economical, legal, educational, and, in the context of this paper, lack of information to improve farming activities.

The lack of reliable and comprehensive information is considered one of the major hindrances to agricultural development. Unfortunately, access to information has not received adequate attention in most countries and especially in rural areas where 70–80% of the African population lives. Women in rural areas have very little access to information, and most are poor and cannot read or write. Rural and peri-urban women, therefore, need to be empowered to increase agricultural productivity through access to information. The few assessments that have been conducted on the information needs of women in agriculture have shown that women require information on all aspects of agricultural production, processing, marketing, decision-making processes, the resource base, and trade laws. They also need to exchange information on indigenous knowledge and require appropriate information communication technologies (ICTs) to be able to access vital information efficiently and cost-effectively.

Traditional ICTs such as drama, dance, folklore, group discussions, meetings, exhibitions, demonstrations, visits, farmer field schools, agricultural shows, radio, television, video and print media have been used successfully in many African countries. The media play a major role in delivering agricultural messages, with the radio forming the main source of information. Satellite, solar and fibre optic technologies are now in use for computers, telephones and facsimile. Where appropriate, these should be tapped to enable rural women farmers to access information using modern ICTs concurrently with traditional ones. Telecentres are the way forward and could be established in villages, and new ICTs such as electronic mail, World Wide Web, electronic networks, Newsgroups, ListServs, teleconferencing, CD-ROM and distance learning tools can be used where appropriate by rural women farmers, women leaders or their intermediaries such as non-governmental organisations, community based organisations and development agencies. These intermediaries would in turn repackage the information for the consumption of the rural woman farmer.

There are numerous current and planned initiatives on modern ICTs and social, economic, health, agricultural and cultural development in Africa. These include: i) the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s African Information Society Initiative; ii) the International Development Research Centre’s Acacia initiative - launched in 1997; iii) the United Nations Development Programme’s Sustainable Development Networking Programme and the Internet Initiative for Africa; iv) the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation’s initiative on developing a rural Internet approach for rural agricultural communities; v) the World Bank’s Information for Development Programme; vi) UNESCO’s initiatives on establishing pilot multipurpose community telecentres and centres of excellence; vii) USAID’s Investment in Developing Export Agriculture (IDEA) project; viii) the Environmental Liaison Centre International’s Electronic Post Offices and ix) telecentres in South Africa.

In order for women farmers to have access to and benefit from information that is available, formulation of appropriate supportive policies and regulations that empower women, along with adequate resource allocation, development of telecommunication infrastructures as well as awareness creation of the potentials of ICTs are prerequisites. There is a lack of a competitive environment in providing affordable services using modern ICTs in most countries, and the necessity to liberalise markets to encourage competition cannot be overemphasised. The poor level of telecommunication facilities in Africa has been cited as the most critical inhibiting element.

Women must, therefore, be involved in the decision-making processes which set up the system, to ensure that the systems meet their needs and constraints. They need to learn additional technical and organisational skills and be at the centre of decision making. The content of the information must be relevant to the requirements of the rural women, and information should be re-packaged into appropriate format, size and language and must be affordable. This could create jobs, reduce the rural-urban migration, and reverse the brain drain in many countries in Africa. Institutional strengthening and capacity building are also required and, in particular, women should have the technical capability to handle the technologies availed, hence should receive adequate and relevant training.

Development agencies, governments and the private sector need to work harmoniously to formulate projects on ICTs in agricultural development programmes and projects in rural areas. These projects need to take into consideration the specific needs of a given community, before deciding on what communication media or ICT to use. These initiatives will, however, only be successful in countries where there is political goodwill and governance.