Digital Reach

[

] 48

national community provide mutual support, build the capaci-

ties of other stakeholders and constitute a roster of international

experts able to provide technical advice. Community members

include information and communication specialists, policy

makers, planners and development practitioners.

The programme is based on active partnerships between all

types of organizations specializing in agricultural and rural issues,

in collaboration with organizations from other sectors where

appropriate, for example, telecommunications. The scope of the

partnership provides opportunities for the integration of stake-

holders and types of intervention regionally, nationally and locally.

The programme is committed to ensuring that the rural poor

and the organizations that serve them are better able to use tech-

nology to exchange information and to communicate more

effectively within their communities, with decision makers and

with others concerned with development. Tangible steps towards

alleviating hunger and poverty through the effective application

of ICT are already being made:

The Government of El Salvador has developed an Internet-

based early warning information system for natural disasters,

which captures data from a variety of local and national sources.

Radio producers throughout anglophone and francophone

Africa are able to enrich the content of their programmes for rural

audiences, such as women listeners, with information on food

and agriculture obtained from the Internet.

Researchers in over 100 of the poorest countries are now obtain-

ing up-to-date agricultural information directly from scientific

journal websites without paying prohibitive subscription charges.

This aids their work on increasing agricultural production.

Agricultural researchers and extension workers in Egypt are

now actively communicating important technical information via

the Internet between rural villages and district and national offices

in seconds rather than days or weeks.

In Asia, rural finance institutions are benefiting from low-cost

micro-finance software, resulting in more efficient banking oper-

ations and lower transaction costs, enabling the institutions to

lend to small borrowers like farmers would want to expand

production.

Access and empowerment

– ensure that information reaches and

empowers poor people, as well as enable them to participate in

decision making processes

Strengthening partnerships and participation

– build horizontal

and vertical links, as well as shared ownership among commu-

nities, organizations and sectors

Realistic approach to technologies

– build sustainable systems that

enhance existing structures, can be extended and exploit the full

range of existing media

Costs and financial sustainability

– evaluate and finance the provi-

sion of suitable information infrastructure and content,

particularly in remote areas.

In order to bridge the rural digital divide, the programme is focus-

ing on two main actions:

1. Information and communication approaches

The programme is analyzing current mechanisms and processes

in developing countries for exchanging information and for

communication using digital ICT in order to compile a set of good

practices. Larger-scale national and regional initiatives related to

bridging the rural digital divide are also being monitored and eval-

uated. The lessons learned will help the programme formulate

policy and operational guidelines, supported by case study

evidence.

2. Developing international networks of professionals

The programme will also support development of international

networks to enable people working in information and commu-

nication in agriculture and rural development to share resources,

new ideas and examples of good practice. Members of this inter-

The rural digital divide is the inequitable access to ICT between rural and

urban areas that separates those in rural areas from the world’s

information and knowledge resources. The rural digital divide is derived

from a complex range of problems, including the lack of:

telecommunications and other connectivity infrastructure; skills and

institutional capacity; representation and participation in development

processes; and financial resources.