Moreover, participants felt that timely information on weather forecasts would help them prevent crop losses and cope with major crop failures. However, during the roundtable discussions at the Lusaka Internet Forum, participants said lack of data on weather, crop input locations, and marketing opportunities both local and foreign were hindering the development of the agriculture sector in the country. In finding solutions to harness the potential of ICTs in relation to agriculture, participants said there was need to push for the use of mobile money to pay for goods and services required by farmers. Participants called on the need to lower rates on loans for farmers, encouraged farmers to start their own commerce platforms to find trade solutions and to integrate warehouse receipt software tied to database inputs. Participants urged government to ensure that ICT in agriculture interventions are useful and cost effective for and accessible to small scale marginalised farmers in remote rural areas who have restricted access to capital, electricity and infrastructure.
The second group, addressing freedom of expression, stated that, the internet and new information communication technologies (ICTs) were now an integral part of everyday life for many people. They said ICTs were giving more and more people a voice and were improving openness and public debate in the society. At the same time restrictions on the right to freedom of expression in relation to ICTs were also on the increase. Participants at the Lusaka Internet Forum said without specific online laws, it would be a challenge to end cyberbullying. High costs of internet was raised as a challenge which was hindering access. In light of the aforementioned challenges, participants said government should encourage locally appropriate, affordable and sustainable ICT infrastructure, applications and services for rural economy. It was also agreed that, there was need of getting regulators to cost share infrastructure in order to lower cost of operations which ultimately lead to lower cost of data.
The third group, discussing gender and access, pointed out that women’s access to ICTs was generally limited. Information gathered during the gender and access discussions showed that low levels of literacy, limited technological access, technical expertise and the high cost of connectivity prevented many women from taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by ICTs. Participants said cultural and social attitudes are often unfavorable which limited women’s participation in the fields of technology. Additionally, participants said women were often financially dependent on men and did not have control of economic resources, which made accessing ICT services more difficult.
It was resolved that there was need to get more research especially on women and internet access, not just generic numbers that do not go beyond age, income and gender. Participants stated government should put in place laws regulating online platforms to make it safe for women who are often subjected to different kinds of harassment.
faced numerous challenges such as delayed input delivery, lack of markets for alternative crops and almost non-existent extension services among others. They said, ICTs could help farmers improve rural livelihoods and the quality of life by making informed decisions. By using ICT tools, farmers would get timely, up- to- date, relevant and accurate technical information and advice regarding good farming practices. The use of various ICT tools could effectively respond to farmers’ abundant information needs and allow local farmers to share relevant information, knowledge and experiences with each other.
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