Ken Lohento, Programme Coordinator, ICT4D

1. ARDYIS Project:
Promoting opportunities for youth
in agriculture and ICTs
Ken Lohento
ICT4D Programme Coordinator
CTA
Wageningen, Nov 2012

2. CTA’s ICT4RD Programme
Promoting and supporting use of innovative ICT tools and
approaches
g
n in
ai
Tr
implementation
Multistakeholder
networking
Information Policy debate
dissemination
Awareness raising

3. ARDYIS -- Launched in May 2010
Objectives
Strengthen capacities on ICTs for ARD
Contribute to sensitising on Agriculture and
RD issues
Target audience
 young farmers
 students in agricultural
training courses
Youth interested in ICT for
ARD Promoting opportunities for youth in
agriculture and ICTs
Advisory Committee/ Partners
CAFAN SPC Yam Pukri

4. Rationale
• Agriculture offer employment opportunities for
youths.
• ICTs help to reach and promote agriculture to youth,
contributing to reducing the ageing agricultural
population
• ICTs offer new marketing tools to enhance more than in
the past (youth-led) agricultural businesses;
• Youth spearhead ICT innovations that enhance
Agriculture and Youth ICT specialists can enhance
agriculture with their innovations (mobile applications
(mAgri), market information systems, etc).
• ICT help to improve livelihoods in rural areas which
faces rural exodus

5. ARDYIS
Promoting
opportunties for
youth in
agriculture and
ICTs

6. Some activities….
• Networking - Dissemination of
information: (opportunities, etc.)
and discussions
• website, dedicated mailing lists
890 followers on Facebook
• Training
Ghana, 2010 Facilitate youth participation in Ag and ICT conferences &
projects (IAALD, water management, FANRPAN projects,
CTA 2012 Value chain conference etc.)

7. Some activities….
Advocacy document calling for
stronger support for youth
involvement in agriculture and
ICT
Consultation on youth, ICT-based
entrepreneurship in agriculture,
Addis Abeba, NEPAD
collaboration, May 2012

8. Some activities….
• About 3000 public votes and
comments for Yobloco Awards
• Institutional and individuals blogs
awarded
Publication featuring succesful
youths

9. Strengthening rural youth employment opportunities
in agriculture and ICTs in Southern Africa (SOFIA project)
• 3 year project, facilitated by ARDYIS /Southern Africa region
• Targets: main young farmer groups, youth training centres in
rural areas
• Case studies on youth entrepreneurship activities involving ICT
and agriculture
• Training on ICT and agri-marketting; Free software business
models, business management
• Monitoring of ICT use by farmer groups
• Policy discussion on ICTs
• Etc.

10. Thank you
lohento@cta.int
http://ardyis.cta.int
http://www.facebook.com/ardyis