Kamukwape's Diary

Born out of the IPO48, a 48 hour tech  bootcamp, a great tech-business idea M-Farm has found its way up the rudder, impacting positively on the economic well-being of Kenyan farmers, by providing them with a transparency tool to get real time crop prices and sell them. Farmers are plagued with problems affecting their productivity and livelihood, middlemen only offering meager prices for their produce, cereal boards delaying with payments, and expensive farm inputs. Many more people cannot get into agriculture, and just about 20% people were in the agriculture sector by 2011 when M-Farm started. M-Farm offers smallholder farmers with three services : price information, collective crop selling, and collective input buying. They are currently collecting wholesale market price information on 42 crops in five markets in Kenya. Pricing information is collected daily through independent data collectors using geocoding to ensure that the prices are being collected from...

The omnipresence  of mobile phones , their ability to ease access to various services andlow cost of maintenance, make it rewarding for people to use them as tools for enabling citizen participation in policy debates, to improve service delivery and to provide access to various information and communication services that impact their socio-economic development. The convergence of radio and mobile phones have increased the impact of citizen participation on social and economic development. Citizen participation is becoming a common phenomenon, which has also been adopted in the agricultural sector. One of the successful initiatives integrating citizen participation in agriculture through radio and mobile phone convergence is TRAC FM . Read Full Article   SOURCE: ICT4Ag Social Reporting Blog

"Youths are jobless and them developing Apps is just something to fulfill their hobbies.” Can you imagine? That's the comment that came from one of the Delegates at the ICT4Ag 2013 International Conference, Kigali, Rwanda. Put yourself in the shoes of the the youth, sit your self on that chair, and imagine listening to a respected person, a leader and credible consultant utter those words in the full presence of the youth. Like a sharp double edged sword, they would pierce in your heart, like a sharp stick accidentally plucking your ear they would resonate. This is just an example of many other humiliations youths undergo as they struggle to achieve their career goals. Youths are usually perceived as not so serious folks, who have no direction or clearly set goals. In many cases they are used as rubber stamps, just as some useful idiots not so important. Seemingly, not so important that the world can do without them. Yet, the youth are in the fore front of the gre...

Its happening in Kigali, Rwanda at the great conference of the decade on ICT for Agriculture... 4-8 November, 2013... Have your say in how to establish a dynamic and enabling environment where ICTs for agriculture (farming, fisheries and livestock) can flourish. Be part of the debate as we discuss topics such as ICTs and value chains, advocacy and policy development, and assessing the impact of ICTs. 1. Plug and Play Day A fantastic opportunity for a valuable and very practical insight into the latest technological developments in the field of ICTs for agriculture. http://ict4ag.org/en/agenda/plug-play-day.html 2. Field Trips http://ict4ag.org/en/agenda/field-trips.html 3. ICT4AG HACKATHON Supporting ICT innovations and entrepreneurship that enhance agriculture http://ict4ag.org/en/agenda/hackathon-en.html 4. Exibition http://ict4ag.org/en/agenda/exhibition.html 5. Side Events http://ict4ag.org/en/agenda/side-meetings.html 6.Get a test of what you should expect at the Conference http:/...

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and other key partners is organising the International ICT4Ag conference in Kigali, Rwanda, from 4-8 November 2013.  During the conference, a youth session on "Capacity Development, Youth, and ICTs In Agriculture" will take place on 5th November.   Session 10: Capacity Development, Youth, and ICTs In Agriculture  [Time:] Nov 5, 2013  [Location:] Room: Bulera  [Duration:] 13:30 - 15:00 Agriculture does not only need youth to replace the old farmer but also to bring innovations that modernise the sector and strengthen it, so that youths also benefit from it. The application of new ICTs in agriculture particularly confirms that assertion. This session will be led by a panel of four dynamic young professionals from Africa and Latin America who have launched or are involved in key initiatives in transforming the...

EVERY TIME YOU USE THEM YOU DEMOTIVATE THEM, EVERY TIME YOU ABUSE THEM, YOU ABUSE THE WORLD, YOU DO NOT MAKE GOOD USE OF THEIR EFFORTS/ENERGY/ENTHUSIASM/ CONFIDENCE/COURAGE, YOU ARE THE FACTOR BEHIND THEIR STRUGGLE BECAUSE YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR STRUGGLES... YOU MAKE THEM BE BORN... AGAIN AND AGAIN... EVEN IN THE DARKEST CORNERS WHERE ONLY A SHARP LIGHT BLINKS... YOU LEAVE THEM IN LIME LIGHT....OH MY YOUTHS OF AFRICA, MY POOR BROTHERS AND SISTERS... ARISE AND STAY AWAKE, WATCH OUT FOR THE SWINDLERS THE ENEMIES OF YOUR PROGRESS... THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR POTENTIAL AND EAGERNESS, CHOPPING YOU TO YOUR KNEES, YOU BELIEVE IN THEM, THEY SHOW YOU SPARKLING COLOURS YET NO FULFILLMENT TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND NO REWARD TO PAY YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK... FOR HOW LONG CHILDREN OF AFRICA? FOR HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU SUFFER THIS LOSS OF DIGNITY? LIKE IN THE TIMES OF COLONIALISM, WHIPPED AND ENSLAVED, YET WITH LITTLE ROOM FOR YOU TO SPEAK OUT, NO CHANCE AT ALL TO VOICE OUT YOUR WOES...! SOFTLY, T...

O riginally posted on YPARD “Are these roasted bananas?” I asked, as my colleague Ado looked on nodding against me. “Let's ask her”, he said. It's amazing! Many different types of fresh agriculture products are sold along the streets of Accra. All the lady could tell us was that the bananas like fruits are called plante according to her pronunciation. One would wonder the destiny and mission of the seemingly unplanned walks by the two guys; Zambian and Ethiopian YPARDians. Less to the expectation of many, they are anxious and eager to learn how Ghana has managed to make it in agriculture; Are the young people involved in agriculture in Ghana? If so, is the government supporting them and how? Many such questions entangle them and they move around reflecting on the 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week deliberations. Walking few meters away from the Accra Art Centre, a medium size bill board shines with green writings. Our eyes caught in bliss, as we both shouted “Youth i...

The National Youth Policy in Zambia is a guide of youth development in Zambia. Its purposes include: to guide, inspire and validate the development of youth programmes of action; to provide the government and stakeholders with a legal framework for supporting and mainstreaming youth development programmes and activities; to empower youth to participate in national agendas and take advantage of opportunities available in the country; to provide comprehensive and effective strategies for policy implementation; to build and reinforce Zambian youth leaders; to include all the emerging issues and respond to the current needs of the youth today. The first National Youth Policy was developed in 1994 and a review was done which saw the birth of the 2006 National Youth Policy.  Following various dynamic socioeconomic issues facing the youth in the country, the youth policy is undergoing review to facilitate the development of a new National Youth Policy for Zambia. Various recommendat...

The Youth Employment Network (YEN), an inter-agency programme of the UN, the ILO and the World Bank, offers a free E-Coaching programme for young entrepreneurs (16-35) who have recently started or are in the process of starting a business. Trained E-Coaches provide guidance (in Spanish, English, or French) to young entrepreneurs over a period of 3 to 12 months. More:  free E-Coaching programme for young entrepreneurs (16-35) - Youth Skills for Development

Support our project: To improve education and livelihoods through an ICT enabled Information and Knowledge Hub

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is organising a Regional Workshop on “Engaging Youth in the Implementation Phase of the CAADP Transformation Agenda – KIS” on 9-10 May 2013 at the FARA Headquarters in Accra, Ghana. The meeting will look at the entire CAADPcountry and regional policy processes, and identify innovative approaches for making job creation for young people a top priority of the AFSIPs that Africa countries are currently developing. The Workshop will bring together youth, youth leaders, and policymakers including CAADP Country Team Leaders to articulate a workable strategy for effectively engaging youth along the implementation phase of the CAADP Transformation Agenda – KIS. YPARD Africa will partner in this initiative, bringing together key youths in agricultural development in Africa. By working with representatives from an established youth network, continuity and long term strategies related to youth and the CAADP can be tasked to these members, ...

Zambia Launches the Process of Formulating its National Agriculture Investment Plan

Join Others in Kigali, Rwanda from 4-8 November 2013 as they look into the future of ICTs for agriculture. Have your say in how to establish a dynamic and enabling environment where ICTs for agriculture can flourish. Be part of the debate on topics such as ICTs and value chains, advocacy and policy development, and assessing the impact of ICTs. Discover new innovations and cutting-edge technologies and share exciting experiences with ICT experts from around the world. Network with representatives from private and public sectors, civil society, farmers and community organisations, development practitioners, entrepreneurs, telecom operators, innovators, information specialists, technology intermediaries, policy makers, and academics from around the world. Don't miss out on this truly unique event. Visit www.ict4ag.org for more information. ICT4Ag is cohosted by CTA and the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI).

Realizing that about 55 percent of Zambia's total population and 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas, and that the majority of households rely on incomes from agriculture and agriculture related industries, growth in agriculture is expected to generate jobs and create employment opportunities for the poor. With reforms which started in the early 1990's that emphasized on diversification of the economy through promotion of agriculture development, liberalization of marketing and encouragement of private sector participation resulted in some improvements in the sector. Therefore, fostering agricultural growth and rural development is recognized as important in reducing poverty in the country. In line with these efforts various strategies have been put in place to strengthen the efforts in realising the goal of the agricultural sector being "To promote increased and sustainable agricultural productivity and competitiveness in order to ensure food security; Income gener...

ICTD 2013: International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development