ICT for inclusive growth in agriculture highlighted at APEC 2015 Symposium on internet economy

BORACAY, May 20 -- The Philippines as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2015 host economy, in partnership with the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) held a Symposium on the Internet Economy on May 18 at the margins of the APEC Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 2) at the Crown Regency Resort, Boracay, Aklan, Philippines.


In her presentation, Ms. Bettina Quimson, Deputy Executive Director of the e-Society Office of the Department of Science and Technology – Information and Communications Office (DOST-ICTO) of the Philippines, focused on the benefits of improving internet connectivity nationwide. This would enable government services to be delivered directly to the people and contribute to better disaster mitigation and response management. In a social context, this could lead to the strengthening of family values through better communication.


Ms. Quimson discussed the different programs and steps the Philippine Government has taken to use ICT-enabled applications in the delivery of services in areas such as education and employment among others. The Philippines is pushing for free wifi access in the rural areas to address the knowledge and digital divide, and to open new markets beyond the local communities.


She further implied that this thrust is also brought about by the tendency of telecommunications companies to shy-away from rural areas because of the improbability of profit and return of investment.


According to Ms. Quimson, only 8% of Filipinos from rural areas who enter school at the elementary level go on to finish their studies and acquire university degrees. Because of the state of agriculture in the countryside and its labor-intensive nature, parents would rather have their children work in the fields with them, causing the children to be unable to attend some school days. Eventually, they may opt out of school altogether.


To address this fundamental concern, ICT-enabled applications will be central elements under different programs to improve the delivery of education to students, alternative learning systems, upgrading the skills of teachers, and online distance learning. They will also be the main platform for skills development and specialized training leading to industry specific careers and high-income jobs, and to allow SMEs to improve their operations and use the internet as a tool for expansion.


Promotion of entrepreneurship in agriculture will also be aided by ICT-enabled applications through a database of relevant and useful information ranging from soil profiles and crop information, to pest information and harvest forecasting.

This is part of the overall strategy being undertaken to promote inclusive growth and through the Internet Economy. (DFA)


Taken from PIA

Caribbean Nations Prepare for Coconut Industry Revitalization

A $US3.9 million program aims to revive the once-thriving industry and tap into markets for coconuts and sought after coconut by-products. From 1950 to 1980, the coconut industry was a vital agricultural subsector in the Caribbean. However, from 1980 onward, production sharply declined due to pest and disease issues, competition from soybean oil, which resulted in the collapse of the copra industry. But coconut has made a big comeback and demand for products such as coconut water, milk and oil has seen a boom. Now, nine Caribbean countries stand to benefit from a US$3.9 million program to rejuvenate the industry.


“We recognise that the coconut subsector plays a very important role in our efforts to ensure that we have food and nutrition security very high on our list of priority areas for the development of agriculture in Saint Lucia … we want to continue to encourage the planting of acres and acres of fresh nuts and we do recognise that there is an opportunity there for employment and also for nutrition,” said Saint Lucia’s Agriculture Minister Moses Jn Baptiste.


The program is the result of collaboration between the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the International Trade Center (ITC) and the European Union. Coconut farmers say it is a needed investment and there is room for creativity and marketing in the sector.


“Presently, it's only being sold in bottles, people only sell them in bottles. We could do it with ice and glasses. We could also use the jelly to do coconut with chilli, which I learned from a Mexican friend, so there are other initiatives we could use the market the coconut products much better,” said Marva Degalleries, a female coconut farmer. The countries which will benefit from the program are Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.


In a statement, CARDI said that in recent years the demand for coconuts and coconut by-products has skyrocketed both regionally and globally: "Many Caribbean countries have been unable to satisfy this growing demand due to setbacks experienced by industries in the early 1980s. Principal among these have been the loss of international markets for traditional products, loss of consumer confidence, ageing populations and growing pest and disease problems." Many Caribbean countries are pursuing agricultural diversification and the coconut industry is an important part of this drive.


Taken from Telesur

Hogan says Ireland can lead ICT "revolution" in agriculture

EU commissioner Phil Hogan highlights event aiming to fuse information and communication technology with research into smarter farming. 

Speaking at the opening of the Information and Communication Agricultural Conference in Kilkenny on Friday, the EU's Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan said that “ICT technologies are changing the shape of the agriculture industry across the globe providing improvements in the quality of production of crops, the health of livestock and the quality of life for farmers".

Hogan named consumer protection, continuous quality assurance, natural and pathogen-free foods, the reduction in the use of veterinary treatment and increased concern for animal welfare among the areas where he use of data and connected equiment could hep agriculture become smarter.

“The Internet, through its rapid evolution, offers enormous opportunities for the agriculture sector globally. Ireland can lead the way in this new revolution and this conference does that, by beginning the converstaion while putting concrete research plans and ideations into place and engaging the key stakeholders,” Hogan added.

ICT "embedded in machinery"

The event is organised by Waterford Institute of Technology’s Telecommunications, Software and Systems Group and brings together Teagasc, Glanbia, Keenans as well as other farming organisations and business people from the ICT and agricultural sectors.

"ICT is embedded everywhere – with machinery and equipment becoming ‘smarter’ and better ‘connected’," said WIT President Prof Willie Donnelly.

The use of those tools in so-called precision farming is the key to further economic growth for Ireland, Prof Donnelly added.

"The Irish agricultural sector can gain substantial competitive advantage by harnessing our newest resource - data," he said. "This will create two complementary industries: sustainable food production and ICT-agri technology. Becoming a leading exporter of such expertise holds huge economic potential for Ireland and the wider community of Europe."

Taken from Irish Farmers Journal

10 tips to growing sweet potatoes: Get the soil hot

When he was nine years old and riding with his brother on the back of a two-seater tractor on 30 acres in southern California, Gary Jordan planted sweet potatoes one at a time.

"It took us weeks to do," said Jordan, a volunteer Master Gardener with Oregon State University's Extension Service. "I've probably planted more sweet potatoes than anyone you'll meet. I have great respect for sweet potatoes."

The Eugene resident graduated from Extension's Master Gardener program in Lane County a year ago and immediately put in a crop of his favorite vegetable. He entered a local contest and pulled in first and second place awards and soon was giving talks to packed rooms.

"People really want to know how to grow sweet potatoes," said Jordan.

While few people may think to grow sweet potatoes in Oregon because the climate differs so much from the commercial sweet potato hub of North Carolina, Jordan wants to change that.

"Everyone says it's too cold here to grow them," he said, "but I want to show that's not true. Sweet potatoes are a super food, one of the most nutritious vegetables. People want that, and what's better than growing them, knowing what you're eating and exactly where they come from? That's a pretty good deal."

Sweet potatoes need a lot of heat and humidity to grow, according to Jordan, and a little plastic makes all the difference in the Northwest. He uses clear plastic sheeting to cover the soil around the plants, a technique that keeps roots warm and sweet potatoes growing. The other essential is rich, well-draining soil. Mixing in compost or rotted manure before planting is a must.

Other than that, sweet potatoes need little else while they're in the field. If the soil is fertile, Jordan said, there's no need to fertilize. Especially don't use a fertilizer high in nitrogen, which will cause foliage growth to the detriment of root growth. And the roots – or tubers – are what you're after.

The trickiest part of growing sweet potatoes, Jordan said, is the curing process. And you have to cure them if you want sweet potatoes to taste sweet.

"The key is curing," he said. "If you don't, you don't get the transition of the starches to sugar. Once cured, the flavor increases greatly."

After they're cured, Jordan likes to eat his sweet potatoes baked. Not only do they taste great, he said, but they also have the most nutrition when cooked whole in the oven. Not that he's adverse to a sweet potato fry now and then.

What most people don't know is that sweet potatoes and yams are not interchangeable. In fact, they're from completely different plant families, Jordan pointed out, and yams are rarely grown in the U.S. The lighter-colored tubers you see in the grocery store are just a different variety of sweet potato.

"Most of us will never see a yam in our lives," he said.

But everyone sees sweet potatoes, he said, and should eat plenty of them.

To read more, Gary Jordan offers these tips for growing sweet potatoes

Taken from Oregonlive.com

Mahfood Won’t Pay Sugar Cess

Jamaican manufacturers are banking on a retreat by the Government over plans to impose a US$35 cess on refined-sugar imports, but the Ministry of Agriculture and other officials appear to be holding fast for now to plans for the fee, which they say is needed to bankroll areas of the sugar sector.

William Mahfood, who runs one of the largest beverage manufacturing and distribution companies in the Jamaica, says he has not calculated the impact of the fee on his cost of doing business because has no plan to pay it.

"It's not even a matter of how it's going to affect us - we are just not going to pay the cess," said Mahfood, CEO of Wisynco Group. He added, however, that it would likely add "tens of millions of dollars" to Wisynco's production costs, and "hundreds of millions" across the manufacturing sector.

"It would make us further uncompetitive against Trinidadian imports because in Trinidad, the manufacturers don't pay such a cess," Mahfood said. He has similarly been vocal in his opposition to the cess as president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), which sees the fee as counter to the objectives of economic growth.

Some manufacturers have raised the spectre of outsourcing their production to Trinidad if Agriculture Minister Derrick Kellier does not back down. On Tuesday, one of the most vocal of them Lasco Group chairman Lascelles Chin said he would have to determine whether a move to Trinidad would take the form of contracting out his manufacturing to a third party or investing in and commissioning a plant there.

Kellier, who took office last year, began a review of the refined-sugar policy under which he initially proposed that the Sugar Industry Authority (SAI) would be the sole importer and distributor - a process that would force manufacturers to buy from SIA's designated agent.

To read full article: Mahfood Won’t Pay Sugar Cess

Taken from The Cleaner

It’s better to give than to receive

While there is a strong lobby to do more for nature and the environment, local stakeholder groups have gone beyond the call. Fishing and farming associations in Trinidad and Tobago are now promoting stakeholder-led education in an effort to sensitise children, students, policy-makers and the general public of the realities faced by those whose livelihood depends on Mother Earth.

On this milestone, agricultural economist and lead consultant Omardath Maharaj says “reducing vehicle emissions, pollution and unsustainable agriculture and fishing practices is as much an economic imperative as it is a social or environmental one. Displacing and disadvantaging the commodity value chains will shift or deplete our food sources while we ourselves, neither have the liberty to easily shift the source of livelihoods nor our taste and preferences.”

President of the Felicity Charlieville Fishing Association (FCFA) David Bachan concludes that “at this time it is better to give back to the earth more than the benefit of what has been harvested over the years.”

iTHINK Global Consulting Services has been partnering with the FCFA, Tableland Pineapple Farmers Association and other stakeholder groups in a number of activities designed to increase public education and awareness of the fishery, agriculture, environment, holistic lifestyles but as well to improve the socio-economic circumstances of those in rural and coastal communities while promoting youth engagement.

To read full article: It’s better to give than to receive

Taken from Trinidad Express Newspapers

How ICT innovations can help farmers

Empowering growers with the right information at the right time can improve yield

April 21, 2015:  

Public and private actors are looking for effective solutions to address challenges in agriculture, including how to address the abundant information needs of farmers and make agriculture profitable for them.  

Farmers need updated information to empower themselves in taking research to land, avail timely and adequate credit, seek and act on market intelligence reports and access market and negotiate prices. This critical information may increase farmer’s productivity, income as well as protect their food security and livelihoods. 

Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in innovative ways through ICT-enabled services helps in disseminating timely information on agricultural advisories, financial services and agricultural marketing and risk transfer to the farmer to improve their capacity and mitigate risks.

Agricultural advisory  

 Farmers’ information priorities include accurate local weather forecasts, crop specific advisory sequenced according to the stage in the crop cycle and price information. ICTs helps in capturing real time weather parameters through remote sensors, collect commodity prices through mobile technologies and acquire updated research findings regarding crops through the web-based platforms of agricultural universities and research institutes.

The information, thus, collected is stored in database and triggered automatically to disseminate localised and personalised information on weather, commodity prices and crop cultivation to registered farmers through Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Interactive Voice response (IVR) over the mobile communication channel. This updated information empowers farmer as they are better informed and prepared themselves to utilise their resources profitably.

Read complete article here: How ICT innovations can help farmers 

Taken from http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/