ICT policies and infrastructure Global trends and regional challenges

Presentation at CTA side event on ICTs mobilizing farmers

3rd European Forum on Sustainable Rural Development Palencia, 29 March 2011

Rémi LangICT Analysis Section

UNCTAD-DTL

Summary

• Trends in access to ICT in ACP countries

• ICT in enterprises and impacts on rural development

• Policies to leverage ICT’s contribution to poverty reduction in rural areas.

Trends in access to ICT in ACP countries

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

Internet users per 100 inhabitants

Fixed phone lines per 100 inhabitants

Fixed broadband Internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

Rest of World 2009 (per 100 inhab.):

Cell phone: 72.64

Fixed lines: 19.61

Internet users: 28.86

Broadband: 7.80

Source: UNCTAD, based on ITU data

ICT: access and costs vary greatly across ACP countries

• No or very little fixed broadband in a number of ACP countries in 2009 (small islands, landlocked nations)

• Prices of ICT declining, especially for Broadband (-36% 2008-2009), albeit often remaining at prohibitive level

• Mobile costs falling most quickly in Africa but remains very high in relative terms, in particular among African LDCs .

Economy

World rank 2008 IDI access sub-index

Trinidad&Tobago 52St Vincent and the Grenadines 54Seychelles 64Mauritius 66Jamaica 79Congo (Dem. Rep.) 155Guinea 156Papua New Guinea 157Chad 158Eritrea 159

Source: ITU data

Gap remaining in access to mobile between urban and rural areas … but progress

expectedCountry Year Share of households with

mobile phone (%)

Total Urban Rural

Bangladesh 2007 31.7 54.7 25.3

Burkina Faso 2007 21.6 63.6 10.2

Cambodia 2008 37.4 76.2 28.8

D.R. Congo 2007 20.8 46.9 3.5

Liberia 2007 43.2 69 20.7

Rwanda 2008 13.1 42.4 7.7

Sierra Leone 2008 28.1 63.5 9.9

Tanzania 2008 28.1 61.4 17.1Source: ITU and national sources.

…By 2015 ITU expects that 90% of rural African population could be covered by mobile signal

ICTs in enterprises can help the rural poor

Information search and transaction costs• Information search and transactions costs lowered in

particular by mobile phones• For poor farmers savings for information search

concerning: inputs, production, marketing and sales, transport, customer relations, support activities.

• Information obtained by one farmer often passed on to neighbours with no access to ICT

• Examples in IER-10:– Grain traders in Niger (50% reduction in information

search costs), which is reflected in market prices. Cell-phones allow traders to operate over much wider geographical areas.

– Dairy farmers in Bhutan, subsitence farmers in Northern Ghana

ICTs in enterprises can help the rural poor

improved communications in supply chain

• Improved communications within supply chains and improvements in overall market efficiency

• Gains in transport and communication costs

• Examples IER-10– Onion farmers and traders in Ghana can improve

their coordination responding quickly to variations in market demand in Accra. Benefits the trader and producers. Allows traders to monitor employees.

ICTs in enterprises can help the rural poor

Improved support functions

• Mobile money services – E.g. M-PESA, M-Kesho, Wizzit, GCash

• Voice-based services – Helplines, agro-messages

• SMS services– Agro-related information (Uganda)– M-commerce (Bangladesh)

• Mobile micro insurance – E.g. Kilimo Salama, Kenya– Burkina Faso, Mali (index-based crop insurance)

Some policy recommendations

Expand mobile coverage in places with no mobile signal Make mobile and other ICT services affordable Focus more on ICT adoption at low levels of economic

activity and sophistication, e.g. for subsistence enterprises

Use mobile solutions in business support services and exploit opportunities for combinations of different ICTs

Make interventions more demand-driven rather than technology-driven – needs of enterprises differ

Work in partnership with development partners, private sector and civil society Development agencies need to stay abreast of ICT trends

Feature ICT and enterprise policies in poverty reduction strategies

Thank you!

The Information Economy Report 2010

can be downloaded free of charge at www.unctad.org.