By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, May 26, GNA – Professor Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic Professor of Agriculture Engineering, University for Development Studies, has called for urgent and inclusive measures to bridge the digital gap towards ensuring a just transition.
She said while artificial intelligence, big data and digital technologies were increasingly being promoted as solutions to socio-economic challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana, structural inequalities continued to prevent many people from benefiting from the digital transformation agenda.
Professor Kranjac-Berisavljevic made the call while making a presentation at a two-day conference on climate change and food security, which ended in Tamale.
Her topic was “Gender-sensitive Climate Adaptation for Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security in Northern Ghana – Options for Digital Transformation”.
The conference was organised by Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung to launch a study on gender-sensitive climate change adaptation for sustainable livelihoods in Northern Ghana.
It was also to deliberate on climate change, food security and their effects on vulnerable populations, especially women, as well as generate actionable recommendations to minimize the effects of climate change on communities in the northern part of the country.
Participants were drawn from public institutions, academia, civil society organisations and development partners in the five regions in the north.
Professor Kranjac-Berisavljevic said socio-cultural norms, unequal access to economic opportunities and the gendered division of labour remained deeply embedded in society and continued to affect women’s livelihoods and participation in digital transformation.
She said the ongoing push towards digitalisation, smart agriculture and modernisation across sectors was not adequately aligned with the principles of a “just transition”, which sought to ensure that everyone benefited from technological advancement.
She emphasized that “The way we are going towards digitalisation and modernisation of agriculture and the other sectors, and then, the just transition, they are not together.”
She explained that a just transition meant that everybody should be able to participate in, and adapt to digital and smart systems, but current realities showed that many people were being left behind because of illiteracy, poverty and geographical barriers.
Professor Kranjac-Berisavljevic observed that implementation of digital technologies could not be uniform because different groups faced different challenges based on educational levels, economic conditions, and access to infrastructure.
She called for support for diverse participation in technology development, local content creation and ICT innovation, while emphasizing need to safeguard online privacy, especially for women and girls.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Kenneth Odeng Adade
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