Background

Co-hosted by CTA and the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and supported by an impressive array of international organisations, the international conference ICT4ag offers participants the opportunity to discover exciting opportunities and cutting edge technologies. Representing the public and private sector in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific and further afield, delegates will discuss how increased investment and adoption of ICTs in the agricultural sector will contribute to improved value chains as well as more effective advocacy and policy processes in agricultural and rural development. In addition, they will share ideas and knowledge, discuss new approaches, best practices and experiences. Issues related to ICT trends and their impact on agriculture, capacity building, enabling environments, scaling up and sustainability will also be discussed. For more information, see: http://www.ict4ag.org.

Goodluck is a 35 year old progressive farmer. He starts his day early checking his smartphone for the latest news on the weather, the crops he grows and on any policy developments that may concern his business and the cooperative he is a member of.

Since CTA held its first Web2.0 training event in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009, demand has simply exploded. Between 2009 and 2012, 1,684 people from around the ACP regions were trained. In 2012 alone, 695 people from 32 countries took part in 31 learning events, branded as “Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunities”, two of which were offered online through a partnership with UNITAR and FAO. This represents a 509% increase in participation on 2009!

CTA’s web2.0 training programme has sparked enormous interest across ACP countries. Organisations and individuals have shown themselves hungry to learn about social tools and platforms which can support their collaborative work, and how social media can be adapted to their particular contexts and needs. But which groups are the most enthusiastic adopters of web2.0 tools, and what impact does that adoption have, in terms of personal development, institutional changes, and new opportunities for beneficiaries in the context of development?