REPORT IN MALAYSIA

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INFORMATION VU THUY LIEN DEVISION OF RURAL AND MOUNTAINOUS INFORMATION

Development and Application of Agricultural ICTs for Socio- Economic Development in Rural and Mountainous Areas in Vietnam

I. Status of ICT development in Vietnam

Advantages: -ICT is developed rapidly at present. -Its national information infrastructure has been modernized by using digital technology. - The telecommunication networks were totally digitized. Telephone density has improved from 0.1 line/100 persons in 1986, 1 line/100 persons in 1995 to 7 lines/100 persons nowadays. The country has 5.5 million telephone users 1/3 of which are mobile phone users. As to Internet use, after 5 years of implementation, there are 250,000 registered Internet accounts with about 1 million Internet users.

-Most of communes in the country have got telephone line. More than 5,000 communes have its Post and Culture Point that delivers telecom services and organizes public book, journal reading.

Disadvantage: There are a few number of personal computers in the rural and mountainous areas and most of them are used mainly for word processing purposes.

Description of the project "Model of Providing Scientific and Technological Information for Socio- economic Development in Rural and Mountainous Areas “

Project Objective -Eradication of hunger and levitation of poverty -Improving quality of human life in rural and mountainous areas by timely providing and intensively using reliable information and knowledge.

Project Activities and results - Setting up Knowledge Commune as model for ICTs integrated use for socio- economic development in rural and mountainous areas in Vietnam.

Information needs and information sources -Question – and –answer service -Marketing information -Information about rural development policy and programmers -General agricultural news

Target end-users groups Target end-users groups in commune were identified and classified as follows: Decision makers at commune level. Extension workers. Farmers and handicraftsmen, members of various NGOs (youth, women, veterans and so on).

Project sites The knowledge commune was set up in the Commune People Committee headquarter. It is arranged in a 15 or 20 m2 room that is convenient and accessible for commune population.

Installation and operation of Knowledge Commune Hardware: Software: Relevant digitized content: -An e-library on science and technology that operates off-line: The e-library provides various information services based on its full text database of more than 23,000 digitized documents on CD- ROMs

-A database on experts and consultancy organizations provides rapid and reliable information on experts who are able to give necessary advice on respective questions of farmers. -An e-library for scientific and technological movies that provides hundreds of digitized movies tittles. Any of these movies can be searched and showed directly on PC screen or on TV set by VCD/DVD player

Internet connecting: - Access free of charge to VISTA (Vietnam Information Network for Science and Technology Advance developed by National Centre for Scientific and Technological Information (NACESTI))(URL : and to Virtual Techmart of Vietnam (URL:

-Access a number of domestic and overseas databases and to various electronic publications, such as: + Science, Technology and Economy, weekly updated; + Knowledge and Development, weekly updated; + Rural Innovation, weekly updated; + Environment and Sustainable Development, every two weeks updated; + Science and Development, weekly magazine.

Commune website Provides information on the commune, including marketing information on its major products and services. This website is hosted on VISTA and updated by the knowledge commune. By maintaining and updating their website, knowledge commune makes population in rural and mountainous areas not only active information users but also information creators who are able to exchange experience through Internet.

Besides, the knowledge commune facilitates the other traditional services, such as local radio broadcasting, movies shows in meetings and conferences in the commune.

Training for local human resources - A basic training programmer was organized for days to train three persons from each commune. These people were selected by the Commune People Committee who are in charge of operating the knowledge commune. In their turn, these people will train the other people to use ICTs, especially the commune leaders, young people.

Organization and use of the Knowledge Commune An implementing and operating project team of 3-5 persons for each knowledge commune was set up. This project team is headed by the Chair man of the Commune people committee. A regulation and an annual working programmer for the knowledge commune were formulated and adopted by the Chair man of the Commune people committee.

Socio-economic effects of the Knowledge Commune -Information and knowledge are diffused to and used by end-users in the commune as an important economic factor to create products and welfare. -Population in rural and mountainous areas are able to access ICT, especially to use the relevant digital content. This reduces digital gap between rural and urban areas.

Internet connecting and Website allow the commune to advertise its capability, products and exchange experience with the rest of the country and the world.

Conclusion The Knowledge Commune has been highly appreciated by the public in the country. It has been considered as a successful model for ICTs integrated use for socio-economic development in rural and mountainous areas in Vietnam. More and more organizations have been involved in implementing and widening Knowledge Communes in rural and mountainous areas in the whole country.

Since 2002, 31 Knowledge Communes have been set up in 11 provinces by NACESTI in co-operation with other government organizations and NGOs. A number of hundreds of Knowledge Communes are projected to be set up in 2005 in 21 provinces in Vietnam. The Knowledge Commune may serve as a sound model for ICTs integrated use for socio-economic development in rural and mountainous areas in Vietnam.

Some proposals can be drawn on the finding of the study: The organisations and departments concerned with agricultural development need to realise the potential of ICT for the speedy dissemination of information to farmers. Encouraging the research and development of agricultural electronic products Efforts should be made to incorporate ICT in all endeavours related to agricultural development.

Making farmers aware of the advantages of ICT services to encourage them using more IT Promoting the cooperation between the technical experts and agricultural experts because one is an agricultural expert usually doesn’t know information techniques, while a professional in technology has not enough knowledge about agriculture to give advice on various problem The organisations of science and technology should support some big projects that have a bright future of application

The end Thank you

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