Author : Fairhurst, Thomas

Summary : Over the past ten years there has been a veritable explosion in the development of information technology (IT) for use in industry and agriculture. Whilst agriculture in North America and Europe has begun to exploit the potential of IT in agriculture at the farm level and sophisticated geographical information systems for improved land use planning, research and crop sector development, the development of IT in agriculture in Southeast Asia is still at an embryonic stage of development. In this paper we will review the present and potential for IT use in agriculture to improve crop management, research, and land use planning in SEA. Examples of IT use in the plantation and smallholder sectors will be reviewed and the potential for further exploitation of IT in the future discussed.