[governance] Call for participation in the forum on "Strengthening e-Agriculture Strategies in ACP Countries"

[Mawaki Chango]

Dear all,

Please, feel free to pass on this announcement to colleagues who might
be interested (and there is _No Need_ to use Reply to All in case you
wanted to reply to this email.)

Within the framework of the upcoming ICT Observatory meeting relating
to agricultural and rural development to be held from 24 to 26 April
2013 in the Netherlands as well as the WSIS+10 activities pertaining
to e-agriculture, as part of the Tunis Agenda's Action Line C7 on ICT
applications and the related WSIS Forum to be organized from 13-17 May
2013 in Geneva, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation, CTA, is holding a two week email discussion on
e-agriculture policies and strategies in the Africa, Caribbean and
Pacific countries, starting today.

You are cordially invited to participate in that e-agriculture
strategy forum (see below) on the e-agriculture.org platform here
http://ow.ly/hGiRn. To participate you must be a member of the
e-Agriculture Community by registering at
http://www.e-agriculture.org/user/register. After registration, follow
the link to the forum’s page and reply to the question of the day.

Once you are subscribed, you will be able to participate either by
posting from the Web platform or from your email program by following
instructions available at the link “How to activate email
notifications for this forum (instructions)” on the forum page.
Introductory notes and other resources are also available.
Please join us!

Thank you

Mawaki

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Forum: 2013 CTA ICT OBSERVATORY “Strengthening e-Agriculture
Strategies in ACP Countries” (25 February – 8 March)


How can we strengthen e-agriculture strategies and policies (holistic
ICT strategies and policies dedicated to the agriculture sector) in
ACP* countries?

Farmers and other agricultural actors are increasingly using ICTs,
particularly mobile phones, at different stages and in all segments of
the agricultural value chain. As recommended by the United Nations,
the need to put in place strategic and holistic frameworks that guide
and support the full integration of these technologies into
agricultural activities has become crucial.

The Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), in
collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),  is
organizing an e-Agriculture forum to start this important discussion.

The specific questions to be addressed during the debate are:

Week 1:  The concept, need and state of adoption of e-agriculture
strategies in ACP countries and beyond
1. Why are national e-agriculture strategies (also referred to as “ICT
for agriculture strategies” or “cyber-strategies for agriculture”)
needed for the agricultural sector to fully realize the benefits of
ICTs?
2. What examples of ICT strategies targeting the agricultural sector
do we have in ACP and in non-ACP countries (“ACP” stands for “Africa,
Caribbean and Pacific”)?
3. What are the key target areas and value chain segments for these
e-agriculture strategies? And Why?

Week 2: Stakeholders, challenges and lessons learned for formulating
and implementing inclusive e-agriculture strategies
4. What are the key challenges faced in formulating and implementing
these strategies/policies and what lessons learned from on-going or
past processes?
5. Stakeholder roles: What are the roles of ICT and agricultural
stakeholders in e-agriculture strategy formulation, implementation and
evaluation? How can we ensure the full participation of farmers and
other non-governmental stakeholders ? What are the role(s) of the
Ministry in charge of ICT and the one in charge of Agriculture? What
role(s) for international stakeholders?
6. What key policy recommendations can be made to support the
implementation of effective e-agriculture strategies or policies?

Subject Matter Experts from various organizations will contribute to
the discussions. A synthesis will be prepared following the debate and
a policy brief, which will take into account key initiatives,
recommendations and conclusions, will be prepared following the
organization of the ICT Observatory meeting.

Outcomes of the online forum will be used at the 2013 ICT Observatory
(to be organized by CTA from 24 to 26 April, in the Netherlands), with
the results of these activities presented at the 2013 WSIS Forum
(13-17 May, Geneva). These activities are organized by CTA in
collaboration with the FAO, the World Bank, the East African Farmers’
Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (Rwanda),
The Ministry of Communication (Ghana), the International Institute for
Communication and Development (IICD), the NEPAD Agency and the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA/ISTD).

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