Leveraging ICT to increase productivity in the agricultural sector and stimulate rural development
Sub Title :
Category : ECSECC Working Papers
Publish Date : 01 Mar 2017
Agriculture is an alluring business which should be embraced with the latest technology. This can be done in almost all farming activities. It will reduce labour requirements and ensure safety of humans in otherwise dangerous activities. This paper discusses some applications of information and communication technology in agriculture. These applications will help in rural development by changing the economic status of rural people. Some specific application areas are discussed. These are land management, animal management,
crop management, plant disease detection and irrigation management. The study explores some areas where further development and applications are needed especially in South Africa. It is concluded that adaptation of
sophisticated information and communication technologies in agriculture can be advantageous in enhancing food security in South Africa, Africa and the world at large. The decrease in labour in many areas of agriculture can be substituted with relevant technologies. The paper is concluded with the list of further research areas in the use of ICT in agriculture especially in South Africa.
