About 63 countries from all over the world are attending an international conference on how ICT can be used to promote agriculture (ict4ag), which is meant to help farmers get perfect and quick services.
Usually farmers are the ones who do difficult work in cultivating and feed a great number of the population of the world.
Some professional farmers go rich while others remain poor and never develop normally due to the lack of knowledge and little practices of what they have been taught.
Some farmers from Rwanda are less informed about the use of new technologies related to agriculture, among who do not even have
Technical devices like mobile phone. Therefore one can ask how this technology will be used while there some farmers who have no idea about that.
On this case of how technology can be linked to agriculture in a country like Rwanda, which has many farmers who are not knowledgeable about technology, Mr. Michael Hailu, the director of CTA (Center for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation) say that in less than 3 years 95% of Rwandan people will be using the 4G internet connection and farmers are included in that number.
He also mentioned the fact that there will be website and technical devices that can give information in local languages, and with the help of CTA and ministries of both agriculture and ICT, information will be free.
The minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda Dr. Agnes KARIBATA with the minister of Youth and ICT Jean Filbert NSENGIMANA guarantee that farmers will get full access to information as far as agriculture is concerned.
This will be the solution to some Rwandan farmer who could find difficulties knowing the accessibility of foreign markets.
Joseph GAFARANGA is one of best farmers and the secretary executive of IMBARAGA organization (farmers from the Northern Province of Rwanda). He says that they used to have difficulties using technical devices. But now that the conference has taught them many things, there are also going to teach other farmers how technology can be used in agriculture.
Alain Joseph MBARUSHIMANA
UM– USEKE.RW
