The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has urged rural women and farmers in Nigeria to leverage technology to boost food production.
Prof. Danbatta who gave the advice at an event organized by Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day, noted that modern agricultural technology increases employment, efficiency in production, and time and cost reduction.
“Today, the telecommunications industry plays a crucial role in providing the requisite support for the diversification of the economy through improving the knowledge economy using ICT as an enabler. It has enhanced human capabilities in areas such as health, education, agriculture, finance, transportation, commerce, and governance.”
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Earlier in her comment, the elected Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Doreen Bogdan-Martin said only 50% of rural communities in Africa are connected, hence the need to work with the governments to bridge the connectivity gap.
Specifically, she said the partnership with the Nigerian government will ensure that more women in rural areas have access to the internet. According to her, when more rural women have access to the internet, their productivity would increase.
“We are working with Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to connect Nigerian rural women. We want to make sure that every rural area in Nigeria is connected, especially for rural women that are producing most of the foods that we eat.
“We have discovered that 70% of Africa’s foods are produced by rural women but only 34% of them use the internet. These women need to be connected. Technology can help farmers in monitoring crops, predicting weather conditions as well as combating agricultural pests, and this is the area we are working with Nigeria to bridge the connectivity gap in rural areas,” she said.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks, the ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.