Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Aquaculture & Fisheries

Aquaculture productivity in Uganda is less limited by technical or genetic barriers, compared to a lack of implementation of best practices for producing fish in earthen ponds and cages. Most small-scale fish farmers in Africa have limited access to reliable information about improved farming methods. Access to appropriate information, inputs, and technical support are significant determinants of agricultural productivity and business success. With corresponding innovation in existing social and institutional arrangements, mobile phones have potential to increase the income of small-scale fish farmers (Verheye 2000). As mobile phones converge with notebook and tablet devices, opportunities will proliferate. Affordability will remain an issue, but cell phone capability and market penetration will grow. Little is known about the use of mobile phones and the needs and interests of fish farmers in Uganda. The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has implications for social and economic development throughout the world (Ogunsola 2005). As with other economic sectors, effective agricultural development requires access to information. Information and Communication Technologies aid in transmission of knowledge that can be used by producers to improve their enterprise. ICT-based services such as information, advice, inputs, finance, and other resources can enhance a farmer's participation in commercial value chains. Despite growth of ICT, many Africans still lack the basic communication infrastructure necessary to access information and make timely decisions. Much of the information provided by extension workers is sometimes out of date, irrelevant and not applicable to small farmers' needs, leaving farmers with very little information to improve productivity. Information and Communication Technologies enables extension workers to gather, store, retrieve and disseminate a broad range of information needed by farmers; ICT can help bridge the gap between extension workers and

NOP 16-A03 (English)