Peru: The Thematic Group debates the use of information and communication technology in rural development

The importance of the use of information and communication technologies in rural areas as an instrument for development was the theme debated among the 21 members of the Peruvian Thematic Group on 9 May 2002. The theme was introduced by the engineer Jorge Tamayo, who illustrated four experiences concerning access to these technologies by the rural population in areas of Cajamarca, Huaral, Jauja and La Unión. In the town of Cotahuasi (province of Arequipa), for example, an increase from 4 to 320 tonnes was registered in the production of kiwicha between 1996 and 2001, thanks to the use of Internet to gain access to information on international markets. In this town, a co-ordinating commission was created at the provincial level with local governmental representatives, community-based organizations, and the public as well as private sector that participated in the formulation of the Provincial Development Plan in which are mentioned the importance of access to information technology and prioritizing biodiversity and eco-business issues. During the meeting, representatives from the Peruvian Centre for Social Studies (CEPES) and the PASA-EU agreed to inform the thematic group about a project on information systems for small farmers.

The meeting served also to take stock of the advances made in the programme “Rural Work”, which the thematic group began to monitor some months ago. A government representative reported that to date close to 1000 projects had been executed in reconstruction and infrastructure maintenance (country roads, irrigation, and basic community services), generating more than 47,000 temporary jobs. The members of the thematic group emphasized the importance of ensuring follow-up on and technical supervision of these projects and requested more information on the investment stage that would replace these social programmes. They also indicated that a development strategy should be established within a process of decentralization.

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