Description: 'The Internet will be of most use to cropping farmers when providers of agricultural information use it less like a library and more like an interactive field day. It is not its scarcity but the local contextualization of information that makes it valuable for farmers. The huge volume of information available on the Internet is of less value to farmers than the opportunities for interactivity with others that it provides to help make local sense of that information. There is a misma more...

'Isolated physically and symbolically by the Great Wall, rural communities in Northern China have not been able to benefit much from the country’s burgeoning IT industry. Most of the huge rural population have never seen a telephone, let alone used the internet. A joint project between United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Chinese government means to address this and help alleviate poverty by creating an infrastructure so that the rural poor can access vital information via infor more...

A report released at the World Summit on the Information Society identified a significant role for information and communication technologies (ICT) in strategies for African development. The report notes that NEPAD1 includes a strong focus on the dual strategies of ICT Development (ICTD) and ICT for Development (ICT4D).

In this paper we argue that universities in developing nations are potentially important players in both of these NEPAD strategies, and that the 'eReadiness' of universities i more...

Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia identifies sixty emerging technologies with the potential to significantly improve agricultural productivity. Eighteen technologies are recommended for immediate development or further exploration.

The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology makes this webpage available with descriptions and links to a large number of initiatives that make scientific journals available free to researchers in developing nations.

The AGORA program, set up by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) together with major publishers, enables developing countries to gain access to an outstanding digital library collection in the fields of food, agriculture, environmental science and related social sciences. AGORA provides a collection of 1278 journals to institutions in 107 countries. AGORA is designed to enhance the scholarship of the many thousands of students, faculty and researchers in agriculture and life sc more...

This manual, drafted as a result of a two-day international workshop on computerising agricultural cooperatives held at FAO headquarters in October 2003 , is intended to provide a reference for agricultural cooperatives considering computerisation, with the aim of ensuring that their first attempt to computerise will be a successful one. It is based on a review of computerisation experiences in Asia, Africa and South America.
UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security, Food and Ag more...

Agriculture is an important sector with the majority of the rural population in developing countries depending on it. The sector faces major challenges of enhancing production in a situation of dwindling natural resources necessary for production. The growing demand for agricultural products, however, also offers opportunities for producers to sustain and improve their livelihoods. Information and communication technologies (ICT) play an important role in addressing these challenges and upliftin more...

A Global Knowledge Partnership Event
Sponsored by Katalyst and FAO. Moderated by Katalyst, a multi-donor funded market development project implemented by Swisscontact, the Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation and co-implemented by GTZ-International Services.
e-agriculture.org is currently hosting a special online forum on the Role of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) running from 10 -28 March 2008. Areas which are being explored include: The scope of Public Private Partnerships to imp more...

You are invited to participate in a special Online Forum: "Making e-Agriculture Work through Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Asia" to be held 0-28 March 2008. e-agriculture.org will host this special online forum starting 10 March 2008. Areas which will be explored include: The scope of Public Private Partnerships to implement e-Agriculture successfully; Understanding the major & common constraints in PPP based on past experiences and current practices; Suggestions and solutions to overcome more...