The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has said it is working with the Nigerian Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to ensure that rural communities in the country have access to the internet.
This was disclosed by the newly elected Secretary-general of the Union, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, at an event organised by Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day.
According to her, only 50 per cent of rural communities in Africa are connected, hence the need to work with the governments to bridge the connectivity gap.
She said the partnership with the Nigerian government will ensure that more women in rural areas have access to the internet, to increase their productivity.
Bogdan-Martin said rural women in Africa are playing critical roles in food production and need to be connected to the internet to enhance their productivity.
“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 per cent 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.
Executive vice chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, urged rural women, and farmers, to leverage technology to boost food production. While noting that modern agricultural technology increases employment, efficiency in production, and time and cost reduction, the EVC said:
“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.”
