The annual ICT4D Conferences have proven to be an invaluable opportunity for NGOs, private sector organizations, universities, governmental agencies and foundations to share their experience in using ICT to increase the impact of development programs and to learn from each other. In 2016, 715 individuals from 76 countries and 301 private sector and public sector and civil society explored the ways to harness the full power of digital solutions to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Our thanks to Accenture, Catholic Relief Services, Esri, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, iMerit Technology Services, Inmarsat, IS Solutions, Making All Voices Count, Mercy Corps, Microsoft, NetHope, Oxfam, Pandexio, Qualcom Wireless Reach, RTI International, SimbaNet and World Vision for making that possible.
In Uganda and most developing countries today, the majority of the population lives in rural areas. Faced with a lot of problems resulting from of lack of empowerment and information, these people cannot industriously perform their roles in society unless rightly informed. Citizens irrespective of location need information on health, food and nutrition, family planning, education, business and agriculture. For the people of Butaleja, the fluctuations between hope and disappointment, expectation and infuriation, has defined their lives for many years. It has for long been an intimidating task for them to get information they need for farming, market prices, pesticides, seeds health and education among other basic needs. The priority for them is to have the right information to enable them face today's challenges but how will they handle such challenges if they can't even get the simple information they need? However, there has been much cause for optimism for the people of Butaleja in the quest for destination 2030. The Communication and Information Technology for Agriculture and Rural Development (CITARD) is at the forefront of addressing their fundamental informational challenges. In this paper, a descriptive case study on how CITARD is meeting the needs of rural people to attain SDGs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 & 13 will be presented. Benefits, challenges and way forward will also be presented. It is hoped that the paper will benefit a number of stakeholders including rural farmers, rural schools, governments of developing countries, public and community libraries and all community based organizations in the developing world.
