IT: are the poor being left out in the cold?

Are developing countries missing out on the technological revolution? How can small businesses and rural farms benefit from information technology (IT)? While many people are illiterate, they will have little chance of 'surfing the net’. If the internet is a long way in the future, rural villages can benefit enormously from more basic technology such as the telephone and the radio.

Intermediate Technology and the Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department at the University of Reading examined the difficulties and benefits of introducing IT to developing nations. For projects to succeed it is clear that all members of a community must be included when new technology is introduced. An IT project failed in Mexico because the village elders, traditional provider of advice and information, felt threatened by the new source of information. It is equally important for women to be included in new technology. In Muslim countries for example, Muslim women are allowed to use the telephones if operated by females.

Business information available on the internet does not help subsistence farmers and small enterprises as the information is aimed at large-scale industry. A ‘middle man’ is needed to translate the information into local knowledge. The internet is too expensive for many small businesses in the developing world although demand for the telephone and fax is growing.

Private telephone companies, licensed to operate in developing countries, are sometimes mandated to provide telephone lines to rural communities. However, operators often do not meet their obligations and are not penalised. A common difficulty is that information services, are either transmitted via a computer network or broadcast by radio in local languages.

The research also found that:

• telephone and radio can make a real difference to the lives of the poor
• there is a huge demand for radio broadcasting in developing countries which should be met
• the internet could be used by small businesses for simple operations, such as finding out information about supplies.

The following policies will enable any benefits to be felt as widely as possible:

• Monitor the success of projects introducing new technologies
• Ask ‘what are the needs of the community?’ rather than introduce hi-tech equipment that gathers dust
• Ensure women and the elderly feel included in any technological innovation
• Encourage private businesses to provide services to rural areas; while donors should fill any gaps not met by the market
• Provide licences and train staff for rural broadcasting.

Source(s):
'Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Sustainable Livelihoods: Preliminary Study', by Clare O’Farrell, Patricia Norrish and Andrew Scott, 1999

Funded by: DFID (Escor)

id21 Research Highlight: 12 April 2002

Further Information:
Clare O’Farrell and Patricia Norrish
Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department (AERDD)
University of Reading
Whiteknights Road
Reading RG6 6AL
UK

Tel: +44 (0)118 931 8119
Fax: +44 (0)118 9261244
Contact the contributor: c.m.ofarrell@rdg.ac.uk

The Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department, University of Reading, UK

Other related links:
'ICT revolution: creating a southern info-underclass?'

'Are ICTs the road to riches for the poor?'

'The right tools for the job? Policymakers get to grips with new technology'

Integrating Modern and Traditional Information and Communication Technologies for Community Development from UNESCO

ITDG specialises in helping people to use technology for Practical Answers to Poverty

'Into or Out of the Digital Divide?' from Panos

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