Digital Dera in collaboration with Internet Society and our partners has stepped forward to address various Internet connectivity, Digital Agriculture and Mechanization challenges in Pakistan. Hayat Farms, the Internet Society, the Accountability Lab and PTCL helped established the world’s first Digital Agriculture Community Network, community network that bridges high speed dedicated Internet from Urban to Rural locations without the burdening expensive costs of broadband infrastructure utilizing an innovative combination of telecommunication connectivity resources to bridge the rural and urban Internet divide. Each node has 5 villages within a radius of 10 kilometers covering a rural population of 18k-20k inhabitants. The network enables digital connected technologies and mechanization to function in such challenging remote rural environments.
The community is connected through the Digital Agriculture Community Network that has been deployed with the support of Hayat Farms, Internet Society and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. By deploying a point to point wireless community network we connect Digital Dera physical centres to the Digital the Agriculture Community Network. The centres provide various technology resources powered by the Internet and brought online by a 24/7 renewable energy powered network and infrastructure. The mornings are utilized by women farmers, students and families. The afternoons are access by the Youth and the evenings are utilized by the farmers planning their next day and sharing their present issues and needs. For the first time in Pakistan, rural communities are gaining access to the same Internet and Technology resources that their urban counterparts have socially and economically benefited from.
