Proceedings of the 2014 conference ICT for Sustainability

Is there a role for Mobiles to support Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

Authors
Simon Batchelor, Nigel Scott, Cristina Manfre, Alvaro Valverde Lopez, David Edwards
Corresponding Author
Simon Batchelor
Available Online August 2014.
DOI
10.2991/ict4s-14.2014.33How to use a DOI?
Keywords
ICT, sustainable agriculture, Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile phone
Abstract

In this paper we present the findings of an in-depth consultation with 50 experts in Agriculture and ICT. The qualitative study explored how ICTs, particularly mobile phones, could be used to accelerate the uptake of Sustainable Agriculture in Africa. Situating the responses in a broad literature review, the data and subsequent analysis paint a broad picture of a converging landscape of agriculture and ICTs. Its main conclusion is that the application of ICT (including mobiles) in agriculture is sustainability neutral; that is to say that ICT is equally applicable to the expansion of conventional, high external input dependent agriculture, or to the development of more sustainable, agro-ecological approaches. The rapid growth in mobile phone penetration in developing countries therefore presents a significant opportunity to help underpin a transformation in agricultural development and food systems, but without a co-operative and focused effort across different stakeholders groups - local actors, private sector partners, donors, expert institutions, and national governments - the potential for mobiles to empower sustainable agricultural development is unlikely to be maximized. The paper outlines the major assumptions behind these statements, and presents a conceptual model for understanding the flow of information through the agriculture sector.

Copyright
© 2014, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2014 conference ICT for Sustainability
Series
Advances in Computer Science Research
Publication Date
August 2014
ISBN
978-94-62520-22-6
ISSN
2352-538X
DOI
10.2991/ict4s-14.2014.33How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2014, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Simon Batchelor
AU  - Nigel Scott
AU  - Cristina Manfre
AU  - Alvaro Valverde Lopez
AU  - David Edwards
PY  - 2014/08
DA  - 2014/08
TI  - Is there a role for Mobiles to support Sustainable Agriculture in Africa
BT  - Proceedings of the 2014 conference ICT for Sustainability
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 272
EP  - 280
SN  - 2352-538X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/ict4s-14.2014.33
DO  - 10.2991/ict4s-14.2014.33
ID  - Batchelor2014/08
ER  -