e-agriculture

Mobile applications in general and mobile applications for agricultural and rural development (m-ARD apps) in particular hold significant potential for advancing development. Though there have been many studies on the mobile revolution, there is a lack of systematic trend analyses, in-depth case studies, and assessments of experiences with m-ARD apps in developing countries. Thus this report examines their development impact, ecosystems, and business models to provide an analytical framework for policymakers and development practitioners.

This publication, the first of South Asia Department’s South-South learning series, aims to showcase lessons, replicable practices, and other insights which development practitioners can learn from, and apply in, the context of their respective countries. Projects discussed here represent various sectors such as energy, urban development, transport, information and communications technology (ICT), irrigation, and disaster risk reduction.

From 2007 up until early 2011 Spider supported various gender-focused initiatives that sought to uplift women particularly in the rural regions of the global south. This report offers an analysis of the impact on the lives of the women that participated in the projects. The publication covers five different projects carried out in six different locations.

Despite the fact that much remains to be explored in terms of the role and potential of ICTs within the climate change field, the analysis conducted here sheds light on key conceptual foundations that help better understand the complex linkages that exist within vulnerable livelihood systems, and that ultimately determine the role of digital technologies in achieving development outcomes amidst an uncertain climatic future.

The Asian Development Bank has been part of searching for better development solutions and innovative approaches using ICT and experiencing the challenges of realities in implementation.This paper selectively takes stock of ADB initiatives across sectors, countries, and regions to share their experiences.

The Adi tribal community inhabit the Siang river valley and foothills of the Eastern Himalayas of NorthEast India. Most farmers are smallholders, and practice jhum (slashandburn) cultivation. Together with difficult mountainous terrain, regular natural calamities, irregular monsoon rainfall, etc., this means agriculture is only for subsistence. 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and agricultural productivity has been among the lowest in India.

Higher frequency and diffusion of climate fluctuations are likely to produce more severe and frequent droughts and floods, which are the main causes of short-term fluctuations in food production in semiarid and sub-humid areas. Taking this into account, it is crucial to identify information and communication systems that the farmers need in order to cope with the new conditions. This paper aims to provide more information and knowledge on the role of information and communication technologies for community-based adaptation to climate change.

The objective of this study is to provide an overview of the current trend in m-Agri Apps development and to answer the question of how to improve information provisioning to smallholder farmers. It also aims to translate this knowledge into success factors, weaknesses, and opportunities for global cooperation and explore ways to share expertise on entrepreneurship in the domain of agro, food and ICT, and to identify possibilities to catalyse the development of mobile applications in smallholder agriculture.