Ronald is a researcher and practitioner working on the application of Information and Communication Technologies for sustainable development (ICT4D), with a focus on agriculture, Health, Education and natural resources management in developing and emerging regions. As a practitioner Ronald supported Esaff Uganda and ,AFAAS(Member and love Afaas development) ,Uganda Oil Seed Producer and Processor Association (UOSPA)’s for Sustainable Development Initiative and various NGOs in rural development projects, and assisted them in the application of ICT to promote improved water management and providing farmer innovations through farming and agriculture.

Using Mobile Phone and SMS: My system also use mobile to help farmer to have access to farming tips, Markets, ether and agriculture planning in different language. And also access to the Veterinary doctor and agriculturist expert.

Agriculture in Uganda is mainly rural and is characterized by low productivity which can be ascribed to obsolete farming practices, the challenge of accessing credit for commercial agriculture, weak rural infrastructure, a constraining land tenure system, poor government rural development policy conception, poor implementation of viable policies, and ineffective extension services and the challenge of accessing markets for agricultural products has become a challenge farmers in rural areas.

In the context of this article, agricultural extension is conscious use of communication of information to and from farmers, involving agricultural policies; programs, research and education to help farming stakeholders (farmers, markets, and government and development partners) identify and analyze agriculture production problems, identify opportunities for improvement and enable formulation of sound opinions and good decisions. Market access refers to information on the location of profitable markets and entry requirements.

How ICT is changing agriculture in rural

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) refer to technologies that facilitate the creation, processing and transfer of information across space and time. ICTs enable performing tasks quickly, efficiently and comprehensively, facilitating the flow of large volumes of information to a wide audience across numerous geographical locations.

Though ICTs are not a panacea to agricultural and rural development, they have the potential of bridging the information gap for rural farmers with respect to innovative practices, government policies, credit facilities, accessing markets and acting as an effective tool for policy advocacy.

SETTING THE FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE ICT USE

The challenge thus is how can we use ICTs to improve agricultural extension to rural dwellers and improve access to markets? To get this right we need to put in place an effective framework, in terms of appropriate policies and programs that will harness the already well-known potentials of ICTs.

• Rural ICT Development Policy: Local governments should ensure the provision of basic ICT facilities for communities within their jurisdiction. With the usually small population of most local communities, even a couple of computers can service their ICT needs. Local governments and private organizations can partner to provide ICT Centres (which can utilize the wireless internet services provided by telecoms companies) for rural communities.
• Training Youth Groups: The youth can be an effective tool for fostering ICT development in rural communities as it can provide the man-power and high level competence required to manage ICT centres and train locals on ICT use for agricultural development purposes. Besides, due to its wide coverage of rural areas, networking between youth groups in various communities can foster rural-urban communication, extending information to rural farmers and providing relevant market access information.

The youth ICT Groups will be trained on ICTs and how to use them for relevant extension servicing and sharing market information. The proposed ICT centres can be managed by trained youth volunteers, who in turn will transfer skills to their communities via a ‘train the trainer’ approach, to ensure sustainability.

Young Farmers Association: Formation of young farmers clubs in secondary schools will stimulate the interest of youths in agriculture. By exposing students to innovative agricultural practices and agriculture potential information via mechanisms like slide show presentations and interactive internet programs we can raise a generation of farmers that will be more willing to use ICTs to create and utilize extension information and improve market access.

• Community Focus Group: A coalition of the student farmers, the NYSC ICT Volunteer Group and cooperative farmers in communities will result in focus groups. Focus groups can promote agricultural extension by sharing experiences and communicating these to government extension and policy implementation bodies, via the internet. A network of focus groups through the NYSC ICT initiative will also facilitate market information.

• Direct Connection of Rural Centres with Extension Agencies and Markets: The government should ensure a policy where direct communication exists between the various agricultural extension agencies, policy implementation agencies, credit institutions, prospective agricultural markets and the ICT centres in rural areas. Through this market-farmer-extension service interaction, high yielding input and innovative practices can be communicated to farmers, and major agricultural markets can inform farmers on required product specifications and even reach joint venture partnerships that will allow major buyers to finance commercial farming.

What i have done for extension service and market access purposes

Having established a platform for successful and sustainable ICT use, it is pertinent to discuss the content of such schemes to ensure ICTs are truly relevant to farmers in the areas of bringing extension services to them and exposing them to markets for their products.

• Comprehensive Online Data Base: I have build an information database where  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development need to access a comprehensive information data base for farmer that will contain names, phone numbers, emails, contract addresses, websites, etc. of all its agricultural extension service centres. Then to this database also, focus groups within communities, relevant NGOs, credit houses and global development partners will be adding similar information. This will not only facilitate communication between government agencies but also speed up intra focus group, focus group-relevant agencies communication.

The system Register of all Cooperative and Focus Groups Online: A website e designed for the registration of all the youth ICT volunteer groups, ICT centres, Young Farmer Associations and Integrated Community Focus Groups according to their states and local government areas for easy navigation. This will be used to foster inter-group communications on productive and practical practices in communities as well as market trends and needs.

• Online Information Processing and Project Monitoring: By registering farmer groups as cooperatives in online accounts on assistance program websites, farmers can access agricultural assistance information, fill relevant forms and sign for items e.g. fertilizers collected, animal diseases and many more. This method will remove bureaucracy and allow government to easily monitor implementation for example NADDS.
• Do-It-Yourself Manuals (Disease database for crops and Animals): After gathering community specific needs, agriculture development stakeholders can make ‘do it yourself manuals’. A manual for poultry farming can contain information on rearing space, vaccination, disease warning signs and treatments and possible markets. These manuals should be accessible online or stored in CDs forms. Podcasts can also show in video forms agricultural practices for easy learning. This is extending information to farmers and exposing them to markets.

• Geo-Mapping(Future Functinality): To enhance productivity, the government with its ally agencies can carry out community land mapping in all local governments in Uganda to identify the potentials of lands in various communities with respect to their suitability in certain crop and livestock production and post such on a website where they can be accessed. Information from owners who want to lease their lands can also be collected and posted online to facilitate commercialization of agriculture.

• Market-Mapping: I developed a website that shows the Major markets that’s exist for agricultural products in, www.ajaga.com is the marking platfarm for selling and buying of farming products both crops and livestock. A market mapping also needs to be done to identify major markets for various products. Also information on the required processes to access certain markets, especially in exportation need to be put online for buyers to access.

• Ask the Expert: This extension service method has been used in countries like America, Canada and Japan. With a feedback platform on websites, comments can be posted for expert advice. Farmers can use internet blogs to share their experiences in their respective communities for the benefit of other farmers. This have changed the face of agricultural extension from a ‘top to bottom’ approach to one that is two-way.

• E-Commerce: my system has the potential of allowing farmers sell products online via the ‘ordering’ system, even from the convenience of their villages. This will require adequate registration of farmers and their products that will ensure that products ordered online can be traced to a particular farmer to maintain transaction integrity.
• Cattle Monitoring: Many farmers fear to rare cattle because of theft and my system can track the movement of cattle in the specified rage and if it exceeds that place it notifies you and send you a massage to your Phone.
• Diseases detection: The System can immediately identify a rise in temperature that is associated with many common illnesses, allowing the livestock operator to perform early, and more successful, treatment. The earlier an illness is treated, the more effective the treatment will be, thereby reducing livestock loss. A major indication of an animal’s well-being is its core body temperature. Many of the livestock illnesses that cause cattle loss are initially indicated by a fever in the animal. Even before an animal shows the normal visual signs of illness, such as excessive nose discharge, drooping head, lack of appetite, coughing, and wheezing, the fever is most likely already well established

CONCLUSION

The potentials of enhancing agricultural extension services and improving market access for rural youth farmers abound with the use of ICTs. Harnessing these potentials however, requires an appropriate framework for ICTs utilization. This framework involves appropriate government policies, formation of youth ICT volunteer groups, stimulating youth interest via the Young Farmers Association, integrating communication between focus groups in various communities and relevant government extension service and policy implementation agencies.