Agriculture
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) studies show that there are strong, direct relationships between agricultural productivity, hunger, poverty, and sustainability. Three-quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas and make their living from agriculture. Especially in knowledge intensive fields such as in agriculture, we need to understand current trends, design and implement appropriate and sustainable information and communication technology (ICT) components together with forging effective partnerships. Farmers and their families, who constitute the vast majority of the rural poor in Botswana, face a vicious circle of poverty. Botswana government has implemented some initiatives to help alleviate some of the issues of poverty. However, there are still lingering issues like:
• Their physical isolation is compounded by poor infrastructure that makes it difficult and time consuming for them to access services and markets.
• They have few physical or financial assets that they can leverage to improve their livelihoods or protect them from unexpected stresses such as disease or drought. • They have limited access to government services and little power to enforce their rights. • The land they farm is often of poor quality and dependent on unreliable rain. • They have inadequate access to vital inputs such as seeds and fertilizer. • They have issues with low purchase prices of their produce by government Objectives • Provide mobile solutions for access into markets and information on pricing of agricultural products • Solutions for farmers on finding and connecting to suppliers, buyers or logistics providers, such as storage facilities and transport companies. • Market access solutions for firms, such as processors or exporters, to manage their operations and the quality of their produce • Mobile solutions on soil status
• They have few physical or financial assets that they can leverage to improve their livelihoods or protect them from unexpected stresses such as disease or drought. • They have limited access to government services and little power to enforce their rights. • The land they farm is often of poor quality and dependent on unreliable rain. • They have inadequate access to vital inputs such as seeds and fertilizer. • They have issues with low purchase prices of their produce by government Objectives • Provide mobile solutions for access into markets and information on pricing of agricultural products • Solutions for farmers on finding and connecting to suppliers, buyers or logistics providers, such as storage facilities and transport companies. • Market access solutions for firms, such as processors or exporters, to manage their operations and the quality of their produce • Mobile solutions on soil status