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ICT in Nepalese Agriculture |
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by Kushal Naharki | 24-08-2017 18:27 0 |
Information and communication technology (ICT) is defined as "diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store and manage information. In 21st century, also known age of technology almost every field is linked to communication and information.
Farming involves risks and uncertainties due to geography, climate, raw materials required and ICT can deliver useful information to farmers on crop care, fertilizers, seed resource, market price. ICT can make a significant contribution in productivity and sustainability of small scale farmers. Global studies shows that ICT in agriculture affect economic growth and productivity of inputs positively. ICT play an important role in addressing the challenges in agriculture and uplifting the livelihood of rural poor. ICT has been the base for improving agriculture nowadays to enhance productivity and ensure food security. Wireless technologies, global position system(GPS), geographic information system(GIS)(especially used in precision farming), computer controlled automated system such as agricultural robots and automatic milking, software technologies, smartphone mobile application, RFID technology are some of the information and communication technology used in agriculture. ICT in agriculture is an emerging field and almost many developed countries incorporating it in their national policies. Nepal, a agricultural country with 66% population being involved in agriculture and agriculture supporting almost 40% of the national GDP, seems to be far away from these technologies. Being an agricultural dependent country the need for ICT seems to be requisite for the nation but farmers of the country are almost deprived from it. The sad part is that agricultural student who are the future of agriculture are also deprived about the knowledge and use of this technologies. Although Project for Agriculture Commercialization(PACT) and Agriculture Management Information System(AMIS) under MOAD and other governmental organization are working to increase the access of farmers to mobile application, few agricultural applications like Smart Agriculture, Krishi Ghar, IFA krishi, Yuba Krishi, Hamro Krishi, Farm Nepal are available at play stores but have very limited access to Nepalese farmers. Due to low price of smartphone these days however the use of this applications are increasing but comparing with modernization and use of technologies in other countries, our country seems to be lagging too far. The most obvious and crosscutting way that ICT can improve agriculture is through the improvement in access to information and making it cheap and easier to adopt. A report says that 41% of farmers are potentially ready to benefits from emerging ICT tools if there are adequate support from government and service provider. ICT is rapidly expanding in the agriculture sector and provide information needed for the product. So far there is there hasn't been any effort in Nepal in harnessing ICT in agriculture apart from development of few agricultural apps. A coordinated response to increasing youths involvement in the agricultural sector is important by providing enough access and knowledge to the agricultural students and manpower but there are few questions that arise such as: Is our government ready to incorporate ICT in agriculture as other developed countries?, Is network and technology advancement in Nepal able to sustain ICT?, Are farmers well trained to adopt new technologies?? |
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2 Comments
Thank you @Aldrin
Posted 24-08-2017 23:01
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! I wonder what fields could be closely used together with ICT..
Posted 24-08-2017 21:23