Online Agriculture Schools offer programs of study in animal care, crop management, and turfgrass sciences. Online Agriculture degree programs are sometimes completely available through online sources.
Some Online Agriculture studies enable students to complete studies for a bachelor degree in Agriculture through online studies.
Agriculture Online
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND ICT
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND ICT
;ICTs play a key role in improving the availability of agricultural production and market information in developing countries.
Convergence of ICT with agricultural development
ICT helps the extension system in re-orienting itself towards the overall agricultural development of small production systems.
- Economic development of agricultural producers;
- Community development;
- Research and education;
- Small and medium enterprises development; and
- Media networks.
; Some agricultural development services that can be provided in the developing world, using ICT, are:
- Online services for information, education and training, monitoring and consultation, diagnosis and monitoring, and transaction and processing;
- The facilitation of interaction among researchers, extension (knowledge) workers, and farmers;
- Question-and-answer services where experts respond to queries on specialized subjects ICT services to block- and district-level developmental officials for greater efficiency in delivering services for overall agricultural development;
- Provision of early warning systems about disease/ pest problems, information regarding rural development programmes and crop insurances, postharvest technology, etc.;
- Facilitation of land records and online registration services;
- Improved marketing of milk and milk products;
- Services providing information to farmers regarding farm business and management;
- Tele-education for farmers;
- Websites established by agricultural research institutes, making the latest information available to extension (knowledge) workers and obtaining their feedback.
Future Perspectives in ICT
Internet for sustainable rural economic development
; The public sector’s role is to lead by creating government-to-citizen services and by promoting the creation of critical agricultural information services.
E-Agriculture Services
; ICT-based agricultural development services focus on enhancing the skills and knowledge of smallholder farmers and enabling smallholder value chains to improve their competitiveness and flourish. Service value chain analysis determines the financial viability of the ICT services and identifies the ecosystem partners who are willing to invest and deliver those services.
- Knowledge delivery, including access to information, e-learning, and advisory services
- Farm planning to help create efficiencies in agribusiness operations
- Supply chain planning to reduce cost and create visibility for logistics
- Financial services that give greater access to capital and help reduce the cost of financial transactions
- Community services that enable rural citizens to access basic healthcare, education, and e-government services
- Efforts should be made to incorporate ICT in all endeavors related to agricultural development.
- The organizations and departments concerned with agricultural development need to realize the potential of ICT for the speedy dissemination of information to farmers.
Also, since small and marginal farmers are using ICT services, more emphasis should be given to providing information relevant to their farming systems.
- It is recommended that, in drought-prone and less endowed areas, future ICT initiatives provide information services such as facilitation of access to land records, question-and-answer services, information on rural development programmes, weather forecasting, marketing information, best package of practices for dry land agriculture, information on crop insurance and post- harvest technology.
- ICT services should provide early warning of disease and pest problems, question-and-answer services, information on cropping systems and planning, best and latest packages of practices for commercial crops, weather forecasting, soil testing and sampling, post-harvest technology, input prices/ availability, farm business information and crop insurance.
- Meera, S.N. (2002) A Critical analysis of information technology in agricultural development: Impact and implications. pdf
“Technology and Innovation in Marketing”, Allied Publishers, New Delhi