Using Technhology to Fight Famine and Poverty

Rwanda, one of the poorest countries in Africa, had barely 3,000 landline telephones a decade ago — that’s 1 phone for every 3,000 people. Today, it’s rapidly becoming one of the most wired nations in Africa.The same technology that has transformed the way Americans live and work during the past 50 years may soon propel the economies of the poorest countries from pre-industrial directly into the 21st century — in a fraction of the time. And the potential of technology for enabling these countries to cope with famine, poverty and disease are enormous.

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We’re already starting pilot projects with this technology in one of the poorest places on Earth — Mayange, Rwanda. Per-capita income there is about $20 per year. Less than a year ago, the people of Mayange were enduring drought and famine; computers and Internet connectivity would have been the last things on their minds.

However, with the government of Rwanda, other partners and the Millennium Villages Project of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, we’re introducing basic low-tech interventions in agriculture, health and education that seek to end Mayange’s poverty in fewer than five years. Now, with some of their most basic needs being met, the villagers are beginning to see how computer technology can transform their lives even more.

With improved seed and fertilizer, farmers have increased their productivity as much as tenfold, and some farmers have earned so much money from their crops that they have been able to buy cell phones and start small businesses. With computers, farmers would have access to valuable information on farming processes, and they can identify new customers and markets. The country’s coffee has become so good that March was Rwandan coffee month at Starbuck’s.

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