IFAD

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Creating farmers information through rural
connectivity
ICT policy reform and rural communication
infrastructure26 August 2004
Roxanna SamiiIFADr.samii_at_ifad.orgwww.ifad.org
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Enabling the rural poor to overcome
poverty
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Millenium Development Goal 1
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Millennium Development Goal 1
Eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger
Target Reduce by half the proportion
of people living on less than a dollar a day
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They are
900 million of the 1.2 billionextremely poor
people live in rural areas
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They are

• farmers

• fisherfolk

• herders

• landless workers

• artisans

• indigenous peoples

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IFAD empowers poor rural people by
helping them
build their capacityto direct their own destinies
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IFAD empowers poor rural people by
helping them
improve access to

• natural resources

• technology

• financial services

• markets

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IFAD links
social, economic and
political empowerment
to efforts to bridge
the rural digital divide
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The focus is on people, not technology
The focus is on people, not technology
The focus is on people, not technology
face-to-face
publications
community meetings
radio and video
farmer-to-farmer visits
e-mail
thematic websites
roaming theatres
workshops
internet networks
Enabling the rural poor to overcome poverty
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IFADs approach

• connectivity only tip of iceberg
• ICT a tool not a solution
• emphasis on communication
• process more important than access
• content more important than machines

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IFAD works with

• The rural poor
• Governments
• Bilateral organizations
• United Nations family
• NGOs civil society
• Grass-roots organizations
• Other international financial institutions
• Private sector

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Rural connectivity

• roaming theatres
• rural radio
• talking maps
• e-commerce
• rural poverty portal

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Way forward

• ownership appropriation
• development of local content
• language cultural pertinence
• convergence networking
• appropriate technology

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Challenges

• convergence of interests
• bridge the disconnect
• understand local context
• transparent information

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