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Top1. Introduction
Agriculture can be defined as the growing of crops and the tending of livestock whether for subsistence of the producers or for sale or exchange. As defined, there are two main sub divisions of agriculture, farming and livestock. First, consider farming which is the cultivation of crops and which is the main activity of the people of the North West. By 2012, the North West Region counted 161032 agricultural families and apart from children 7 persons in average out of 10, that is about 70% of the total population (1620000 people) were working in the agricultural sector (2012 development report for the region).
The term Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is used to refer to hardware, software, networks and media for collection, storage, processing, transmission and presentation of information in the formats of voice, data, text and images (World Bank ICT Glossary Guide). As such, the nature of ICTs is diverse, ranging from telephones, radios and TVs to more complex technologies such as Internet technologies, mobile telephony, computers and databases.
The ‘raison d’être’ of this paper is to find out and evaluate the available ICTs that can be used and the existing agricultural activities of the region. There is equally the need to find out how these technologies have contributed to promoting the activity within the region as well as the challenges faced. This paper therefore seeks to present traditional and modern forms of ICTs within the region, the agricultural practices and how they interact to enhance development.