In Uganda, agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force with women as the majority population practicing it. The government is putting emphasis on industrialization (through agro based production) of the national economy as a measure for national economic growth. The growth in these agro-based industries can partly be boosted by the commercialization of the agricultural sector. Commercialization of this sector therefore calls for the empowerment of those involved in this sector to make informed decisions, have access to land for agricultural practices, equally participation in public opinion decision making right from grass root level to the top decision makers and improved opportunity to market their produce. The main impediments to the commercialization process include, lack of access to land because of cultural ties, lack of knowledge and skills to compete favorably in the production of quality products and marketing of these products and limited or no access to modern technology among others. ThinkQuest Uganda, world Links VSAT school based telecentre and its partner organizations have therefore identified a need for fully utilizing the available ICT infrastructure in schools as community telecentres for training women who will eventually train other women, sharing, access and utilization of the available internet as a tool for outreach and empowering women groups dealing in agriculture under a one year “Rural Agricultural community connectivity project.”

The National coordinator of ThinkQuest Uganda and the project coordinator are the overall coordinator and overseer of the project in all the ten training stations. The two specialists will be involved in organizing sensitization workshops with tele-centre coordinators. The National coordinator of ThinkQuest Uganda is an ICT expert who runs several ICT programmes in agriculture, education, gender and other related global challenges in Uganda. He also runs various international funded ICT contests in secondary and post secondary schools countrywide. The project coordinator is a program director in gender for ThinkQuest Uganda, she is a gender specialist and has undertaken various research in the field of gender and socio economic empowerment of marginalized groups especially the women.

The tele-centre coordinators will strongly work with the target population (women groups) involved in the respective locality to find convergent issues that broadly represent the interests of the groups involved in the locality. Tele-centre coordinators will also coordinate the project in their respective training stations.

Through the respective tele-centre, tele-centre coordinators, local councils, and their coordinators, the project will reach out to women groups in its vicinity, it will serve to notify the groups of the existence of the program, identify 10 women organizations dealing in agriculture in particular localities with the assistance of local councils, agricultural officers and colleges. The 10 women organizations will each be required to network amongst themselves and select 5 representatives to represent them at the training station. The 5 representatives from each organization are expected to educate women of their organizations what they have learnt at the training sessions. One district agricultural officer from each district will also be trained.

The project coordinator will also be responsible to invite moderators from various fields to mediate the upcoming national session amongst all subscribers or women groups’ nationwide forming part of the program. These may include but are not limited to district officials, gender specialist, agricultural specialist, depending on the theme of the session.

The project is timely and salient and will benefit a cross section of people in Uganda:

• Considering that the largest population of women especially the rural women in Uganda is involved in agriculture and lack the knowledge of ICT, women will be the main beneficiaries. Women groups that are involved in this rural agricultural project will have a hands on experience which they will pass on to other women in the organizations / groups and communities which they live in. Through the interaction with various agricultural networks, the women groups will be able to identify the factors hindering the agricultural goods from competing on the international market, proper record keeping, management of produce and marketing their agricultural products. This will improve on their knowledge and skills about agriculture and ICT and in the long run improve their agricultural productivity.

• Uganda government will have a dual role that of beneficiary and benefactor. On the one hand it will be a beneficiary since its main economic activity is agriculture. Specifically, the project will contribute to strengthening the country’s agricultural base, which will contribute to uplifting the growing agro based industries. On the hand it will be a benefactor because it will be challenged with replicating this model to other districts that will not have benefited as well as champion the demystification of ICT.

• The government and the women are all mutual beneficiaries. They equally benefit from the ICT project because the extensive use of ICT by women in their agricultural activities would increase their income and in turn boost the government’s GDP and image .

• Agricultural offices in various districts will benefit because ICT will improve their communication to the local area women and agricultural groups they support.

• School based tele-centres whose ICT infrastructure will be put to optimum use.

• Schools with agricultural studies will have their agricultural curriculum enriched through networking with women groups.

• IEARN and ThinkQuest Uganda program will also benefit since its ICT enabled agricultural component will be enriched.

I had hoped to learn how best ICTs can contribute in improving and increasing rural women’s agricultural productivity, management and how they can market their products as this would not only improve the income and standard of living of rural women but contribute to uplifting the growing agro based industries in Uganda.

The lessons I would have learnt from the Rural Agricultural Community Connectivity Project would enable me realise gaps underlying in the women’s participation in agricultural practice and recommend possible ways to improve women’s agricultural productivity through ICTs.

Through implementation of the project, I had hoped that I would be able to contribute to the elimination of the hurdles faced by women groups in agriculture, optimize the already available internet based communication technologies (VSATs) in schools and ongoing IEARN tele-collabarative projects on rural agriculture to maintain, enrich and improve computing and data access, and data access skills and knowledge amongst agro based women groups. In the long run, this would improve the rural women’s agricultural productivity thus better incomes and standard of living, and supplement on the government’s efforts to industrialise Uganda’s economy.

I had hope that the project would contribute in overcoming the isolation inherent in marginalised women groups, amplify the voices of the women groups and promote a sustainable program that clearly outlines gender differences in the use of ICTs, promote ICT use among rural women improve women’s access to ICTs, improve the capabilities and skills of rural women in using ICTs, increase the attractiveness of ICTs for rural women by providing relevant content, mainstream gender concerns in ICT policy.

My assumption was that all these achievements would be at the local council level and thereafter replicated to other women in the organizations / groups and communities which they live in as well as higher levels of the local government.