ICT roadshow to take e-Agriculture, other technology to rural communities

Jul 05, 2018 News

Agriculture specialists along with Information Communication Technology (ICT) and other experts from across the Caribbean will fan out to Berbice and the Bina Hill Institute at Annai, Rupununi, to hold specialised technology clinics for residents starting next week.
This will be done as part of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU)’s 24th ICT Roadshow which will be held in Guyana for the first time from Monday July 9th to Friday July 13th.
At a press conference held yesterday at the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, Ministerial Advisor on ICT, Lance Hinds, conceded that while there have been outreaches about the benefits of ICT, a lot of work has been done in the Georgetown area.
Hinds stated that fanning out to the communities is part of the process of preparing the residents for what is possible with the use of ICT. He stated that Guyanese are tremendous end users who utilize services such as Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. However, he noted that if the focus is to be done in a sustainable way, there is need to teach residents the engine behind the technology.
“If as a goal we’re going to use ICT as a productive sector, then, therefore, we have to understand how the machine works; we have to understand how the internet space works; how it is developed and how it is designed and how it is run every day. This is part of the education that we are trying to begin to transfer to those communities for them to get a better understanding of what the potential is,” Hinds noted.
In the area of e-Agriculture, Hinds noted that this is an area that farmers in rural communities can adopt to lower the cost of production. “The manual processes that we have been using for I daresay 200 years, is not going to get you into the market, because they cost too much to do it now. The idea is to use the new tools; whether there are farm bots or any of those things, we must be able to help you to either plant faster or cultivate faster, grow crops and monitor your crops. If you are going to compete in the marketplace you must get to this stage of producing far more efficiently than you are at the moment,” Hinds noted.
Currently, there is an app that connects local farmers with international buyers. This app will also be introduced to more farmers during the roadshow.
The Roadshow is expected to be very diverse and will run at the main venue, the recently refurbished Arthur Chung Conference Centre before branching out to the communities. It will also provide opportunities for Government and the business community to learn about new developments from other regional countries in the area of e-banking, creation of apps and other services.
One of the other key components is the focus on modern facilities for persons with disabilities, among other areas that stand to benefit from ICTs.
The weeklong event will also feature an exhibition for young ICT service providers such as app creators, robotic builders among others. Digicel has signed on a a major sponsor of the week of activities.

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