Youth and ICTs for Agricultural Development

The 21st century has been named some as the ‘Age of Information’. Truly, if we look around our self or ponder over our activities, we will find that in whatever we do, how best we do it depends upon how well we are informed. But when that’s the reality and most of the fields has been working on it, why not agriculture? Caught in the whirlwind of changing times, the farmers of the developing countries are moving in directions they are clueless about. The young people are not anymore interested to join farming or take up agriculture as a career option and neither are their parents. But who is to be blamed for this? Is it the mindset of the youth or the non-remunerative agricultural practices or the extension system not taking care of youth? Every problem come with its own solutions – all we need to do is find it and work accordingly. In this case there are two answers complementing each other –the Youth and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In

one hand, the youth can best employ ICTs in agriculture whereas; the ICTs can make agriculture ‘modern’ and attract them towards it. For this, we don’t need tech-savvy youth but the ones with ability to think out-of-the box. This synergy should be utilized properly and a symbiotic relationship should be established to reap its optimum benefits. But all said and done, technology is ultimately something that man defines and not the other way round Read more…