An online forum will get under way on 6 July to discuss ways in which cell phones can be used to provide strategic information in rural areas (photograph of e-agriculture.org).

Almost anywhere, a small farmer armed with a cell phone could receive information about how to improve his products, how to market them better and even daily price variations in agricultural markets.

Farmers could also have immediate access to early warnings about possible risks to agricultural production, such as pests or floods. The possibilities seem to be infinite.

The wide range of opportunities offered by mobile technologies in the rural milieu will be discussed in the electronic forum Tecnología Móvil en el Sector Rural y Agroalimentario: Experiencias Internacionales y Oportunidades para Uruguay, which will be taking place from 6-19 July.

The aim of the forum is to share knowledge about the use of the new information technologies in rural areas, including business applications and their implementation and development at the grassroots level, and to explore the opportunities for their development in Uruguay.

The results of the forum will provide important input for a research project on mobile telephony that the IICA Office in Uruguay is carrying out with funds from Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC).

The IICA Office in Uruguay is organizing the activity, with the assistance and participation of the Informatics Unit of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation at the Institute’s Headquarters, and with support from the IDRC.

A Webinar will also take place to present the results of the forum “Mobile Telephony in Rural Areas” held by e-agriculture (www.e-agriculture.org) in April of last year.

IICA’s Emmanuel Picado and FAO’s Lisa Céspedes will be presenting the results.

For more information, contact
andres.de.sosa@iica.int