Linux In The Third World

Been looking for information to justify the presence of an internet enabled device for farmers in the agricultural sector. After spending two hours, I finally stumbled into it.

There is now a project with Rapa Lopa, Al Alegre and others on providing e-mail and internet access to small farmers in different parts of the country. A major purpose of this effort is for them to know market prices around the country. This way they are not completely dependent on price quotes from middle men. They can counter with price quotes from the markets in the cities. Who needs this information? Corn growers Bukidnon and Cotabato need to know before they sell to middle men. Cut-flower growers in Cagayan de Oro and Davao need to know the market demand in Manila and Cebu. Fishermen in Pagadian and General Santos need to know market demand for tuna or shrimp in Manila restaurants. [1]

This could be ticket in connecting the smallest farmer to the ultimate buyer, eliminating the middleman. I think this framework will work in third world countries. It could be the answer to the never ending saga of price manipulation.

Only the cheapest solution will work in this kind of environment. No small farmer can afford spending $200 for an XP box. It's very clear how the next couple of years will be about the growth and expansion of Linux in these types of regions.

Now, if only Linux can be dumbed down, things could turn out much quicker, IMO.

E-Commerce thus accelerates the social disruptions that have already been going on. If the industrial revolution created massive flows from countryside to cities, changed feudal relationships to worker-capitalist relationships, brought about communist revolutions, etc. what might be the shape of a future created by e-commerce? An acceleration of a process which has already been going on:

C Compiler

Currently working on the C grammar, figuring out how the parse tree will finally look like. I might use one struct with tons of union within it. Think it's much easier to put all of them there. The ADT will probably easier to maintain that way though.

Reply

In response to tk's entry , tk raised very good question of which I have no answers. There are a lot more things to consider too complex for any individual to solve. I don't know, actually, I'll just continue looking for more information until I create a good paper supporting the idea.

Those questions tk raised will be answered, not today, not tomorrow, but it will eventually get answered. These farmers will see how these devices will work for them, not against them.

One thing is for sure though, it will take years, maybe centuries to make it all happen. But it must start now, seeds must be planted, like a mustard seed planted in a fertile soil, so to speak.

It is time we stopped making excuses for the backward and fetishizing the stagnant. We need to help these people. If that means smashing a few cultures which are little more than 20th century, Southern Hemisphere versions of Vikings, so be it. How we smash them is the subject of another column. [1]