ICT, Youth and Agriculture in action! May 29, 2012

Several weeks ago I announced that This very Blog is a WINNER in  the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation’s (CTA) Yobloco Awards (Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition). Thankfully through the support of readers like you the blog won in the Institutional Category for the Caribbean Region. As part of the prize package, representative winners in that category as well as the Individual category where sponsored and invited to attend the 3rd International Association of Agricultural Information Specialist (IAALD) Africa Chapter Conference in Johannesburg from the 21st – 23rd May 2012. Runners up were also invited. As part of the events of the conference the CTA ARDYIS project (Agriculture Rural Development and Youth in Information Society) held a Workshop event for the winners, runners up, the CTA committee and specially invited guests to identify ways in which  youth can benefit from ICTs and their use in  Agriculture for the overall development of both them and the sector. The event was a great success and gave many of us youth a sense of achievement, pride and duty as we all contributed to a greater need. Personally I had never been to any part of Africa so that was indeed an experience. Furthermore it was my first time meeting other youth with a passion for blogging, something we can share and relate to each other. Furthermore we all blog about or are involved with Agriculture with ICT acting as a support system in several ways. During the conference many other individuals represented numerous  agri-institutions throughout Africa and in many parts of the world. These include West, East, Central Africa, Europe and the Pacific.  The event allowed many of us to connect and network for the benefit of the global agricultural sector in the future. The CTA  and its partners continue to host competitions such as this one. I urge you, young agri students and professionals alike to seek out such events and try your hand at them; the experience and rewards are certainly worthwhile. The winners, runner’s up and their prolific blogs can all be found here at the CTA ARDYIS website whereas the events of the IAALD Conference can be found on the IAALD AFRICA Chapter website.

Urban Agriculture on the Rise May 9, 2012

A Window Farm built of recyclable materials. It was built and displayed by the Agribusiness Society (ABS) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) at its orientation week event.

In studies at the University of the West Indies, most agri-based students learn of the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment and entertainment. We students are taught that as a direct result of this movement, rural agriculture suffers. ‘Many young persons simply do not perceive agriculture to be a worthwhile career.’ We’ve all heard this phrase before. However this trend seems to be changing worldwide. With the ever increasing demand for food and nutrition security, health concerns are rising. These include the issue of genetically modified foods and their contamination of natural food commodities; the  negative effect that industrial agriculture has on biodiversity and the environment; and the need for sustainable agriculture among other issues. A new trend has emerged in the global landscape. I refer to Urban Agriculture. This is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around, a village, town or city. Urban agriculture in addition can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agro-forestry, and horticulture. It also has the added benefit of beautifying an urban area and encouraging communication and business within small communities of larger cities. In developing countries and poorer states, urban farming contributes most to the nutrition and health of persons living in highly populated city areas. The best example of urban agriculture in the Caribbean is the Cuban Green Revolution whereby through necessity the government and the people of Cuba worked together to turn the urban areas of the country into green, food producing and sustainable settings. The Agribusiness Society of UWI has done its part in highlighting the benefits of urban farming by building and demonstrating techniques for the craft. I refer to the creation of our very own Window Farm, a vertical hydroponic garden for growing food in the window of  your own home and the Multi – Storey Garden which was featured twice on this blog. (See part two the Multi Storey Garden Post here!)

The light bulbs place in the set up are meant to support the plants during winter months in colder climates. However they are useless in the Caribbean and are simply placed there for the display. This is an example of appropriating urban farm technologies

Similar to many other worldwide trends, blogs and other online communities centred on Urban Agriculture have grown at breathtaking speed as people like you, me and others all over the world have taken initiative and communicate information of all sorts concerning the craft. As a result you can gather a mass amount of information on urban agriculture from the internet. A good place to start would be here at the links below, but you should note that adaptation of these technologies will differ in the Caribbean due to our geographical location. Not every urban agriculture technique is suited for our region and vice versa. Here are some links to start you of right on your urban agriculture endeavours!

http://urbanagriculture-news.blogspot.com/ - Urban Agriculture News is a news service providing a review of daily news pertinent to the urban farming community, as well as city planners, landscape designers & urban developers that are planning & practicing alternative farming within urban environments.

http://localblu.com/blog/ - A ‘local’ movement of people from all over the United States, with a myriad of backgrounds. Together they all contribute to the operation of this blog centered on urban farming and sustainability, among other topics

Localblu.com – an urban agriculture resource.

Mobile Agriculture is ever present May 1, 2012

Take a quick flashback look at a previous post on Youth in Africa using  ICT for Agriculture. Got it? Remember I asked where are the mobile apps for the Caribbean? I asked since this phenomena is occurring not only in developing states but in developed regions as well.  Agrimarketing.com produces an online content for agribusinesses and farmers in the USA. “The Agri Marketing magazine and its related electronically-delivered information serves management, marketing, communications and other executives at companies providing products/services to North American agricultural producers; their ad/PR agencies; ag trade associations and check-off groups, the ag media and other professionals in the ag industry. It is the official publication of the (US) National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA).” The magazine will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this September. In mid april the company released a free mobile application.  The App includes constantly updated news about the agricultural industry, a robust weather service, ag commodity price quotes and the most recent blog postings by the Farm Progress Magazine editors. Soon after the company reported that its app was downloaded 100,000! Clearly mobile and smart phone technology is a viable means  to communicate. In the Caribbean, mobile communications technology can be found in the majority of areas in the region. Therefore it is possible to utilize this technology in our region for Mobile agriculture application.

Thankfully this is being done! A collegue of mine and fellow student Zainab recently posted on the Agribusiness Society of UWI’s facebook page. She and her team proposes “Using mobile phones (Both SMS and voicemail) picture and video messaging to provide young farmers with agricultural extension services. This video highlights the system at work in Belize in the Carribean Islands where a pilot project was implemented. It’s called the virtual outreach system (developed by Anton Robinson). The example illustrates a farmer trying to identify a disease on his crop  by using his mobile phone. Well done! At last technology is being utilized in our field, right here, within our region of the world!!!