E-Agriculture and Rural Development : Global Innovations and Future Prospects

In recent years, there has been growing attention devoted to the implementation of information and communication technology in agriculture and rural development. While evidence has linked ICT to an increase in gross domestic product, it has prompted a global dedication to the research of the socio-economic benefits, trade-offs, and policy implications of ICT consumption in developing countries. E-Agriculture and Rural Development: Global Innovations and Future Prospects is a comprehensive collection of research on the emerging trends and advances in the global use of information and communication technology in agriculture and rural development. Consisting of case studies, implementation frameworks, and policies, this book provides a global perspective and understanding of the developments in e-agriculture and rural development.

Blessing Mukabeta Maumbe graduated with a PhD in Agricultural Economics with specializations in agribusiness management and marketing from Michigan State University (MSU) in 2001. Blessing has received fellowship awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, MSU Thoman Foundation, and the Southern Africa Centre for Cooperation in Agricultural Research/Germany Agency for Technical Cooperation (SACCAR/GTZ). He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in agribusiness management at various universities in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United States over the past 18 years. He was the founding Lecturer and Coordinator of Agribusiness Management studies at Africa University (AU) in Zimbabwe. After that, he was appointed Senior Land Bank Lecturer at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in South Africa. He later served as an Associate Professor in Business and Community Informatics at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), in Cape Town, South Africa. Blessing is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Agribusiness Management at West Virginia University, USA. Prior to this position, he was an Associate Professor responsible for the agribusiness management program at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). In the past, Blessing has completed consultancy work on the South African Banking Industry, Beef Supply Chain Management in South Africa, and the Development of Private Higher Education in sub-Saharan Africa. He has published several book chapters and papers in international conferences and journals. His current research focuses on agribusiness value chain analysis and the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in enhancing agribusiness competitiveness and sustainability. Blessing has recently published a book entitled e-Agriculture and e-Government for Global Policy Development: Implications and Future Directions. He is an active member of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), Northeastern Agricultural and Regional Economics Association (NAREA), and the International Resources Management Association (IRMA). He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology for Research and Development in Africa (IJICTRDA).

Charalampos Z. Patrikakis was born Greece, in 1970. He received his Dipl.-Ing. and his Ph.D from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of NTUA, Greece. He is an Assistant Professor at the Dept of Electronics of the TEI of Piraeus. He has participated in more than 27 National, European and International programs (ESPRIT, RACE, ACTS, IST, ICT, eContent, eContentPlus), in 12 of which he has been involved as technical coordinator or principal researcher. He has published 21 chapters in books, 27 papers in international journals, 53 papers in international conferences, 6 reports, and has 2 contributions in national legislation. He is a member of the editorial committee of 11 international journals, 30 international conferences, and has acted as editor in the publication of 2 special issues of international journals, 3 conference proceedings volumens and coedited one book. His research interests include: Mobile network applications and services, Mobile and pervasive computing, Broadband Network Communications, IP data communications, P2P and Ad hoc networks, Personal Networks, Multimedia streaming. He is a senior member of IEEE, a member of the Greek Computer Society, a certified trainer by the National Accreditation Centre of Vocational Training Structures and Accompanying Support Services and a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece.