Information and Communication Technology
Score Against Poverty recently launched a new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project to connect farmers with information on weather, markets, agriculture, and nutrition. We have started with 20 farmers and 2 government extension officials, and intend to open this program to any farmers in Mwneezi who are interested in learning more about agriculture and nutrition. With your support, our goal is to reach out to 1000 families by the end of the 2016 – 2017 farming season.
Information and knowledge are critical components of poverty alleviation strategies, and our ICT work offers the promise of easy access to huge amounts of information useful to the poor. SCORE will ensure that ICT is integrated into its nutrition, food security and livelihood programs to improve the program’s reach, and impact. SCORE will design programs that redress the stark disparity between the few people with abundant access to ICT and the vast numbers of rural people especially smallholder farmers and rural students without any access at all.
SCORE will encourage information dissemination methods that suit the basic technologies that are already in the hands of smallholder farmers and rural students such as basic cell phones. In addition, SCORE will work to increase access to equipment and skills. This will enable smallholder farmers and rural students enjoy the full benefits of ICT in their communities and also gain access to outside markets and opportunities.Farmers can now make informed decisions about how to manage and sell their crops without depending on second- or third-hand sources of information.
Over the last few decades, there has been massive growth in technological development and opportunities that have continued to transform people’s lives and the planet. However, the benefits from ICT have not been evenly distributed—with significant gaps in Internet and technology access, affordability and availability. These gaps have implications for which groups have access to education, economic opportunities, health care and livelihoods.
