Call to boost rural computer use

The farming and food industry has been urged by the ICMSA to embrace the information and communications technology (ICT) necessary to retain competitiveness and ensure successful future development.

Rural Development Committee chairperson Tommy Cooke said the cost and efficiency benefits of ICT should be made apparent to farmers.

However, there is a “Fear Factor” associated with these technologies for many farmers.

But Mr Cooke said many farmers now realise that ICT is easy to use after the initial phase. Many farmers would be absolutely lost without the use of their computer in daily accountancy and management tasks.

Unfortunately, there is a clear “Digital Divide” between the farming sector and urban households in terms of computer usage. CSO figures show that only one third of farm households have a computer compared with the national average of 42%.

National computer ownership is lowest in the Border, Midlands and Western Counties, where only 34% of households had a home computer.

Mr Cooke said the ICMSA is convinced that national policies need to be put in place to address this discrepancy.

Calling on Teagasc to develop training courses for farmers, he said this would become increasingly important within the next ten years.

He said the ICMSA welcomed an announcement by the Department of Agriculture and Food that it had developed a facility on its website that enables farmers to check details of their cattle herd profiles as well as movements in and out of their herd online.