11 pages., via online journal., Youth cherish technology, efficiency and innovations and accommodate entrepreneurial risks. The objectives of this study were to show the beneficial use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in agriculture among the youth in Kenya, assessed ICT application and commonly used tools, experienced challenges, impacts and suggested future ICT use. Beneficial ICT applications were exemplified by ‘Mkulima Young Champions’ who led digital initiatives, drew youth into farming, helped them learn among themselves, and traded and overcame agricultural challenges. Using radio, short message services (SMS) and social media, they discussed agricultural topics and shared successes. Mkulima Young's Facebook was vibrant. The youth posted photographs and videos, asked questions, discussed issues and interacted. Most of the youth obtained information from the internet, hence the internet was the best platform to market and promote agriculture to the youth. They used internet and social media to obtain production technologies, market information and for information sharing. Most commonly used tools were MS Office and spreadsheets for record keeping. Voice messages and SMS assisted timely accessing of market prices, reaching clients, sharing production information and money transactions. The ICT content should be relevant to targeted youth, valuable, localized and dependable. The ICT-savvy youth operated intensive, efficient and profitable farms, producing diverse and branded products for niche markets. The youth transformed the community use and access to ICTs and influenced community economic status. Smart phone technology will revolutionize access to and use of ICTs. YouTube, Twitter and WhatsApp should be expanded and widely popularized among the youth.
9 pages., Via online journal., Using an agent-based model we explore the model of slavery in modern business developed by Crane (2013). Taking the Spanish agricultural sector—specifically the area of Campo de Dalías in Almería where much of Europe's vegetables are grown—as a case, we find that labour exploitation flourishes in communities of like-minded companies that do not care about mainstream norms. We confirm which socio-economic aspects of labour demand/supply lead to slavery, while challenging the assumption that markets which are dominated by few employers are more prone to exploiting workers. We find that, regarding isolation and connectedness of employers, cluster effects and intense inter-employer communication are particularly effective drivers of underpayment if the cluster is homogenous in terms of wage level and if it is isolated from law-abiding employers. This means that employers tend to confirm and reinforce each other in their illegal behaviour, thus creating enclaves in which non-standard norms prevail and worker exploitation is regarded as legitimate. On the other hand, we see that breaking the isolation of employees among each other only increases pay levels if there are law-abiding employers, pointing to the potentially beneficial role social business and entrepreneurs, state-owned companies, or public entrepreneurs could play for transforming labour conditions of entire markets.
