Facts Presented at the International Conference on ICT4ag

Below please find facts and trends related to agriculture and information and communication technologies (ICTs) that were provided by 4 young journalists who attended the International Conference on ICT4ag. This event was co-hosted by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation CTA and the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), November 4-8 2013, Kigali, Rwanda. These journalists had answered a call from CTA for entries from those working for print and online media in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries to participate in a competition designed to showcase success stories, highlight best practices, and shed light on challenges and opportunities for facilitating the contribution of ICTs to agriculture.

1. From journalist Joshua Masinde:
   
   • East Africa has become increasingly connected to the internet, with mobile connectivity in a country like Kenya standing at over 75% of the population. [Source: Internet World Stats]
   • Three-quarters of the world's agricultural value added is generated in developing countries, where the agriculture sector contributes as much as 30% to gross domestic product (GDP). [Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Statistical Yearbook 2013.]
   • 1% growth in GDP from agriculture increases the expenditures of the 3 out of 10 economically poorest people by at least 2.5 times as much as 1% growth from the rest of the economy. [Source: World Bank]
   • 2,500: Number of people that CTA and its partners has trained in 29 ACP countries in the use of Web 2.0 applications and social media tools for agriculture and rural development. [Source: CTA]
   • 500 million: The number of smallholder farms worldwide on which more than 2 billion people depend for their livelihoods. [Source: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)]
   • 80%: The amount of food produced by smallholder farmers for consumption in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. [Source: IFAD]
   • 20-30%: Level by which women could increase yields on their farms, lifting 100-150 million people out of hunger if they were to access the same productive resources as men. [Source: FAO]
   • 620 million: The number of mobile connections in Africa as of September 2011. Africa has overtaken Latin America to become the second largest mobile market in the world. [Source: GSMA Africa Mobile Observatory 2011]
   • 30%: Level by which the number of mobile connections in Africa has grown over the past 10 years. [Source: GSMA Africa Mobile Observatory 2011]
   • 36%: The proportion of Africans with no access to mobile services. Projections indicate that raising the whole region to 100% mobile penetration could add an additional US$35 billion in aggregate GDP to the region, equivalent to a further 2% increase. [Source: GSMA Africa Mobile Observatory 2011]
   • 40 million: The number of people that have been pushed into poverty since 2010 due to rising food prices. [Sources: World Bank, GSMA Africa Mobile Observatory 2011, and Central Bank of Kenya and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics]
2. From journalist Arison Mbuli Tamfu:
   • Africa is the second most connected region in the world in terms of mobile subscription, with a current penetration of 60-65%. The number of mobile phone subscriptions is expected to reach one billion plus by 2016. [Source: Informa Telecoms & Media]
   • 80% of Nigeria's Facebook login is mobile. [Source: CTA]
   • Penetration in rural areas is below 50%. [Source: International Trade and Institutions Division]
   • Women make up almost 50% of the agricultural labour force in sub-Saharan Africa, an increase from about 45% in 1980. [Source: FAO]
   • 90% of men, as opposed to 62% of women, have access to land in Africa. [Source: FAO]
   • Africa's internet bandwidth has increased 20-fold in the past 5 years, supported by over 68,000 km of submarine cable and 615,000 km of national backbone networks. [Source: World Bank]
   • Africa spends 50 billion US Dollars every year to import food. [Source: CTA]
3. From journalist Fidelis Zvomuya [no sources cited]:
   • In the world, more people own a mobile device than a toothbrush.
   • In 2000, there were just 16.5 million mobile subscriptions in Africa; the current mobile subscription is 650 million.
   • The mobile subscription penetration rate within the subcontinent is above 60%.
   • Internet bandwidth in the continent has grown 20-fold, as hundreds of thousands of kilometers of new cables have been laid across it to serve an increasing number of its 1 billion citizens.
   • Africa's cell phone use is second to Asia.
   • Approximately 65% of Africa's workforce is involved in agriculture.
   • The sector makes up 62% of the continent's GDP.
4. From journalist Alain G. Lietbouo [no sources cited]:
   • 50%: Representative contribution of women in agricultural production.
   • 120,000: Number of trained rural women to carry out computer management of their peasant organisations in Cameroon. This feat was achieved in 10 years by the Technology Excellence Centre Paul Biya, in partnership with the African Institute of Computer Science.