focus - are icts a new revolution in rural areas

FOCUS 8 Rural 21 – 06/2008 Economic growth and environmen- tal protection are not incompatible. On the contrary, everything suggests that increased use of inexpensiv e technologies could contribute significantly to reducing energy consumption, cur- tailing systematic use of transport and, with time, contribute to the building of economies of scale. A few exam- ples: Vodafone, leader in the mobile phone industry, apparently saved over 13,500 flights per year through video- conferencing thus reducing carbon emissions by over 5,000 tons [ITU, 2008]. The T echnical Centre f or Agri- cultural and Rural Coope ration (CTA) has reduced its communications costs by close to 50 pe rcent by us ing V oIP. In rural areas of ACP countries (ACP: Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific), there is evidence that well-adapted technologies are quickly adopted by local communities. The most telling example is the silent revolution of the mobile phone which, second only to radio, is literally invading rural Africa at all levels. Without energy, no ICTs The vast majority of developing countries do not have easy access to electricity. Rural areas suffer most from this situation, thus making it even more difficult to use modern ICT s. T o solve this problem, developers are turning more and more to sources of renewable energy su ch as solar, wind and second-generation biofuels, as long as they do not compete with food production. But these sources of energy are expensive, and thus hardly accessible for people living in rural areas (For more information, see arti- cle on page 16). Giving and receiving information through well- adapted technologies In this field, Web 2.0 applications offer new opportunities due to their partic- ipatory nature that gives more choice and power to net- worked users (see page 21). Despite the growing pains of cer- tain tools, the follow- ing articles in this issue demonstrate the application of ICTs and their inclusion in various sectors, e.g. education, knowledge exchange, telecommunications and social net- works. However, the Internet is still a technology reserved for the elite in many rural African communities. The rea- son put forth most often is the lack or weakness of connectivity, dilapidated infrastructure and power shortages mentioned earli er. But the problem of access to ICTs for these rural popula- tions is not only technical. From the Koda A. Traoré ICT programme Coordinator CTA – Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation Wageningen, T he Netherlands [email protected] Are ICTs a new revolution in rural areas? No one doubts the contribution of information and communication technologies to development. The main issue is how well they are adapted to reality at the local community level. For rural areas in developing countries, ICT (information and communication technology) adaptation raises great expectations, especially in the struggle to protect the environment, in spite of difficult socio- economic conditions. T ouareg in Nig er using a satellite phone. P h o t o : G R A / C T A

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