c.hortinela posted on September 27, 2011 14:01
From 25 September to 6 October 2011 Katalyst and e-Agriculture will organize an online forum to discuss the challenges of linking impact with the use of ICTs in agriculture.
In the past few years, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives in agriculture have proliferated and the resources devoted to ICT in development portfolios have expanded in the hope that ICT can help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals. Yet, rigorous field-tested knowledge about "what works and why" have been relatively scarce, as well as a deeper understanding of the enabling conditions and success factors in ICT for development initiatives.
As a result, there is a growing consensus in the development community that ICT will only become an effective and mainstream tool of poverty reduction and sustainable development if the proponents of ICT for development can provide more rigorous evidence, strategies, benchmarks, indicators, and good practices that are directly relevant to the core poverty-reduction and development priorities of developing countries and their international partners.
This forum will discuss the present practices and critical issues (regarding both implementation and monitoring) of ICT initiatives in agriculture.
For additional information about this online forum and the Subject Matter Experts leading the discussions, visit: www.e-agriculture.org