An useful and interesting paper (see attachment) on experiences of ICT interventions in South Asia, in the areas of agriculture and rural development is: Necessary but not sufficient: information and communication technology and its role in putting research into use

The paper was published last June by the Research Into Use Programme(RIU) funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID)for the benefit of developing countries in the Discussion Paper Series 

Aim

The aim of the interventions was to put new knowledge into use. Findings are not very positive, but they provide interesting insights.

Findings

• Firstly, ICTs in general have not contributed effectively to the challenge of putting new knowledge into use. They are mostly used to support traditional communication tasks, such as information dissemination and training, at the cost of a wide range of other communication intermediation tasks. 
  
   
• Secondly, even in the few instances where they do support new communication intermediation tasks, this is mainly because of the vision of the entities deploying these ICTs and the working relationships they have with communities and other actors in the agricultural innovation system.
  
   
• Thirdly, the paper argues that this under‐utilization of the potential of ICTs could be due to three reasons: a lack of appreciation of the real nature of the communication‐intermediation tasks required for innovation; underestimation of the roles of intermediaries and their capacities for innovation; and the lack of networks needed for communities to make use of the information provided through ICTs.