Background

FAO works to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security. FAO’s Communication for Development Programme emphasizes the importance of such media as rural radio and traditional communication, but is judiciously introducing new information technology and assessing its suitability for rural populations.

Problem/Need

TDG member Dr. Don Richardson was brought in for a six-month consultation which included field visits to countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. The mission included visits to rural projects to learn first-hand about approaches and applications, and extensive consultations with members of international agencies such as the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The mission culminated in the publication and wide circulation (English, French, Spanish, Persian and Cantonese) of The Internet and Rural Development: An Integrated Approach.

Additional work with FAO has followed based on the success of the above mission and publication. In 1997, TDG consultants provided program planning services to implement a “Workshop to Promote Food Security through Rural Connectivity and the Internet” (Harare, Zimbabwe) for rural and agricultural development organizations from across southern Africa. Also in 1997, FAO asked for further research and investigation regarding the broader role of telecommunication systems and how they might enhance rural development. Two years of research and consultations with experts resulted in an edited book titled: The First Mile of Connectivity: Advancing Telecommunications for Rural Development through a Participatory Communication for Development Approach (available January, 1999).

In 1998, FAO requested Richardson’s assistance to provide a conceptual framework for a major project to assist the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture to make effective use of the Internet. Through wide-ranging consultations and research, Richardson produced a project framework for a “Virtual Research, Extension and Communication Network” (VRECN) which has since been adopted by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture for co-funding with FAO and other donor agencies.

We continue to have a strong relationship with FAO and look forward to additional project, research and publication work with them into the new millennium. .