Video report - day 2 of the ICT4Ag Conference and the ongoing hackathon, 6 November 2013, Kigali, Rwanda

The ultimate goal of agricultural extension is to create change – to improve yields, raise incomes and provide farmers with new opportunities and a better life. Can ICTs transform the way farmers acquire knowledge and information, and make extension services more effective? This was the focus of Wednesday's plenary session, organised by the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS). Today's video report also offer a report on the ongoing hackathon.

Video report - opening day of the ICT4Ag International Conference, 4-8 November 2013 Kigali, Rwanda

More people own a mobile phone than own a toothbrush, and in Africa the number with access to a mobile phone exceeds the number with access to clean water. Mobile phones and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers. This was one of the key messages to come out of the first day of the ICT4Ag conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

 

Day 1 - Video report of the ICT4Ag International Conference, 4-8 November 2013 Kigali, Rwanda

The Plug and play day saw over 300 people getting to know a range of Mobile apps and ICTs approaches in a marketplace of 20 sessions punctuated by a Vuvuzuela moving the audience on. The energy levels were clear from the sound rising in the room and the interactions of the audience. The morning started with...   a brief introductory session, with Didier Nkurikiyimfura, Director General of Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth and ICTs (MYICT), acting as master of ceremonies...