FAO seeks to expand digital literacy in family farming in The Bahamas
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The Representation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in The Bahamas, is implementing a rural digitalization project that will take advantage of connectivity and digital solutions to improve access to markets and have more efficient production processes.
This project is developed within the framework of the 1000 Digital Villages initiative, which promotes connectivity and the use of digital tools in the rural sectors of 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In this context, Eduardo Ramírez, coordinator of the initiative in the region, and Juan Pablo Ceballos, expert consultant in digitalization issues, visited the island of Eleuthera, Bahamas, to meet with the FAO team and the focal points of the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs of the country to learn about the territories involved in the project, assess the state of connectivity and engage with producers in the area.
At the site, the professionals found that, although there is a good level of connectivity, there is a significant gap in digital literacy and lack of digital tools to support producers on the island.
In response, technicians of the 1000 Digital Villages initiative and the FAO team in The Bahamas defined the development of digital literacy programs at basic, intermediate and advance levels. These programs are tailored to match the participants’ existing knowledge. These programs will be internet-based to search for relevant information in production processes and digital marketing.
In addition, they will set up a platform with geo-referenced registry of the island’s producers to facilitate exchanges between producers and potential customers.
The visit also included a meeting with One Eleuthera Foundation, which specializes in the development of training to seek points of agreement that will enable joint work with FAO to improve digital literacy and access to digital tools in the area.