Improving Policymaking for Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa: The role of ICTs and Knowledge Management

This paper investigates the role of knowledge management in African agricultural and rural development policies, and how information and communications technologies (ICTs) can contribute to enhance it. African Policymakers are aware of the importance of knowledge management; however, its actual use is constrained by inter-related factors encompassing the national context and investments in ICTs for knowledge management are still limited. As a result, the capacity to collect and analyse locally-generated and locally-relevant data is low and so is the use of these information for policymaking. ICTs are being used to varying degrees but the linkages between ICTs, knowledge management and policymaking are not yet well established.