Agriculture Dept to Emphasise on ICT to Enhance the Primary Sector in Vanuatu

"The Ministry of Agriculture to Push on ICT to Be More Effective": DG Aru

by Jean-Baptiste CALO

The Director General for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Howard Aru emphasised that the ministry has no other option but to make sure that human resource of all the departments under the ministry and especially the field workers will be be trained in using ICT tools to enhance the work done by the sectors of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and bio-security in Vanuatu.

Director General For Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock, Forestry
and Bio-security

DG Aru made this remark on Friday October 17th 2014 in his closing speech of the 5 days training workshop on web 2.0 and online social media that was attended by 20 participants mostly from government the agriculture department, and other government line agencies including NGO representatives.

Mr Aru said that him and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry were made aware of the crucial importance of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the development of Agriculture and the overall primary sector today in the world.

"Me and the Minister David Tosul just arrived from the Caribbean Week of Agriculture recently organised in Paramaribo, Suriname in South America. The main point that was raised during that international agriculture event was the importance and necessity of the use of ICT and Social Media in the development of Agriculture, Forestry and Forestry. The Caribbean and African are well off in terms of the use of ICT in the primary sector, and they all testified about the goodness and necessity of the use of ICT tools in terms of enhancing the productivity and networking from the authorities to the farmers below and also in terms of the marketing of the products", Mr Aru said.

He went on saying that "Vanuatu has no other options but to seriously embark into this ICT revolution. The Ministry has taken a firm stand to make sure that all the staffs from the ministry down to the field workers will all be trained in using ICT tools. We will run a series of web 2.0 training with the staff of all the departments under our control, namely the departments of Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, livestock and bio-security".

Vanuatu Web 2.0 participants create their own blogs

20 Ni Vans Attend a Training on the Use of Web Online Applications

by Jean-Baptiste Calo

Twenty Ni- Vanuatu from various government line agencies and NGOs have attended a 5 days training on the use of web online applications in order to encourage information sharing.

20 Ni-Vanuatu participants attended a 5 days workshop on web 2.0
  and the use of web online applications.

The workshop consisted of training the participants to use web2.0 online applications such us Google and all its features (Google +, Google Drice, Google Map, Google Docs, Google Video Hangouts and Videocalls..),  including the does and dont's when you're using social media such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube…

The participants were also taught how to download and use Skype application. They also lear how to create, design and use a blog.

Over 200 million people in the world are using web 2.0 or social media tools in the exercise of their profession and also for their private use.

With the fast development of Information Communication Technology throughout the world, social media has become so overwhelmingly used by all the generations even in Vanuatu urban centers such as Port-Vila and Luganville and their outskirt areas since the opening of the telecommunication market in 2008.

In her opening remarks on Monday October 13th , the first Political Advisor for the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture , Emily Tumukon stated that: “Vanuatu is a young state as far as information and communication technology (ICT) is concerned and the development of ICT is very important for the socio-economic growth of the country’. 

Mrs Tumukon delivered the opening speech on behalf of the Honourable David Tosul, the Vanuatu Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity (MALFFB). 

She stated that Areas of improvement are to have the Ministry officials trained properly in using and managing the current ICT facilities and also training farmers to use the technology that can be beneficial to them. 

Mr Hanington Tate, Director of Forestry, believes that new ICT tools such as web 2.0 can promote agricultural and forestry information to rural and remote communities of Vanuatu. He further added that participants at the workshop will benefit from the web 2.0 training and could as trainers in the next web 2.0 workshop is scheduled for this year and early next year. 

He added that this type of workshop also offers a platform where participants from the government line agencies and those representing  different stakeholders can come together to share their experience and eventually to find out how they can collaborate by making use of each others’ network in order to better reach and serve the people of the country.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) promotes the training on web 2.0 and social media to increase awareness among development actors on appropriate, low cost and simple web applications.

The training workshop focuses on web online tools in the context of development work and is addressed to stakeholders actively engaged in agriculture and rural development / natural resource management in the domains of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for development, policies and markets, publishing, communication and media.

Sponsored by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA), the event, titled “Web 2.0 for Development and Social Media Learning Opportunity”, is undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity (MALFFB) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Office of the Government’s Chief Information Officer.

The training workshop funded by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation under ACP-EU (CTA), is facilitated by Anju Mangal and Miriama Kunawave Brown took place at the conference room of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) in Port-Vila.