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Information Technology (IT) has long been viewed as having great potential for improving decision making in agriculture. IT has connected the world globally and is now changing our life style and social consciousness dynamically. In all phases of the agricultural industry, information technologies are vital to the management and success of a business. Agriculture has also been greatly influenced by IT.

Information Technology is rapidly becoming more and more visible in society and agriculture. IT refers to how we use information, how we compute information, and how we communicate information to people. People must have computer and information technology. To participate and make informed decisions in the agricultural industry a person must have ability to gather, process, and manipulate data.

The Internet is a standing topic in newspapers and on television, and the number of users doubles every year. People who use information technology creatively are pioneering careers in agriculture today. Jobs in today's agricultural workforce require greater use of technological skills than ever before.

IT supports new methods for precision agriculture like computerized farm machinery that applies for fertilizers and pesticides. Farm animals are fed and monitored by electronic sensors and identification systems. Selling or buying online began to become popular in the world. However, it's most important role remains communication, and the Internet has provided us with an ideal opportunity to do so. One such communication tool is the Web Site, which simply replaces the newspaper as a communication tool. Presently, almost every company has its own web site
The following are specific ways information technologies being applied through agricultural
education:

* Basic Internet Applications
* PowerPoint Presentations
* Global Position-ing Systems (GPS)
* E-Commerce

Preservice Teacher Education:
4Applications in Teaching Methods - Anyone who will be involved in teaching, whether in a formal setting like the public schools or in an informal setting like an extension workshop, needs to know how to incorporate information technology into their daily teaching.

4 Student Teaching - In some instances, it can be difficult to visit student teachers. With fewer faculties available to supervise interns and added responsibilities, sometimes supervision needs to be done in an alternative way.

Professional Development:
4Alternative Certification Programs - In many countries, there is a shortage of teachers. These "beginning" teachers have no training in program planning or teaching methods, yet countries are willing to place them in classroom situations.

4 Graduate Education - Many teachers want to earn higher degrees, but have difficulty in finding the time to complete degrees. With the wide array of information technologies available, teachers can complete courses from the convenience of their office or home and never have to set foot on campus again.
4Technical Updates - Individuals who need to get updated about technical information in agriculture can easily look at information if it is placed on a web-site.

In order to take the real status of agricultural production and marketing, there is an urgent need to develop the following items:

4Farmers' crop database must be managed. The database includes the kinds of crops, the size of cultivated area, time of harvest and yield. Farmers or the extension personnel transmit those data via the Internet to a database server.

4Crops information service system should be created.
There are many ways in which Information Technology can be used to exchange the information rather effectively through communication like information kiosks which provide not only the basic services like email, helps in education, health services, Agriculture and Irrigation, online trading, community services etc., expert systems which helps in determining marketing alternatives and optimal strategies for producers, integrated crop management systems for different crops.

The use of IT in agribusiness in some countries is quite advanced. The situation in Sri Lanka is quite different, with low levels of computer literacy and usage in the farm sector, with technology transfer 'across the last mile' remaining the weakest link in the Sri Lanka. But farmers often go to great efforts to obtain better information, and much attention is being given by the Government and NGOs to the development of wireless networks, tele centers and other methods for promoting IT access and knowledge diffusion in the rural sector in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, IT is likely to become increasingly important in innovation diffusion in agriculture, in both developed countries and in developing economies such as Sri Lanka. In implementing policies to this end, Sri Lanka must give due attention to the complex interactions between the many players to the role of tacit knowledge and social actors, and to the low level of the IT literacy in the rural sector.

Lack of information at the proper time causes a huge loss to farmers. This gap in communication may be bridged by information technology. Information of the required quality always has the potential of improving efficiency in all spheres of agriculture.

In the context of rice processing industry the potential of information technology can be assessed broadly under two heads: (a) as a tool for direct contribution to rice milling productivity and (b) as an indirect tool for empowering millers to take informed and quality decisions which will have positive impact on the way rice processing and allied activities are conducted.

The techniques of remote sensing using satellite technologies, geographical information systems, and agronomy and soil sciences are used to increase the rice output. This approach is capital intensive and useful where large tracts of land are involved.

The use of IT in agriculture has grown rapidly in the past few years. It is increasingly being used to help managers make better decisions. However, IT and the problem facing decision makers are constantly changing. Thus, future information systems for research purposes will be significantly different than current systems because of these changes. IT has been one of the most aspired fields in today's world. Integrating IT with agriculture will help any country to regulate its overall economy and trade. The different Information Technologies like Expert System in Decision Support System and Remote Sensing have brought revolution in world agriculture.

Future Prospects
www technology is expanding rapidly and touches almost all areas of human activity. It is therefore essential that farmers can participate in the creation of web sites for their farms.
Agricultural universities must prepare not only students to use new IT, but must also help farmers in better use of the web by different means, e.g., extension services, and creating new specific websites.

The total potential cost of Hawai'i's technology tax credit program rose to $1.29 billion through last year, according to a report released by the state tax department last week.
Tax and technology-industry officials said they don't expect the actual cost of the tax credits for investing in local movies, music productions and high-technology companies to reach that level. However, the actual costs won't be known for years because the credits can be claimed over five years and can be carried forward indefinitely.

Through 2008, the credits cost the state an estimated $661 million in tax revenues, according to tax department data.

Starting this year, the program will be substantially scaled back as part of state budget-cutting efforts.

Last year, before those cuts took effect, the state issued $255 million in new income tax credits under the program, known as Act 221, which is equal to the amount invested in local qualifying businesses. Those new figures were released in a report that also made public the identity of 48 more companies that have benefited from the tax credit.

So far, the names of 141 out of 364 companies believed to be involved in the program have been disclosed. Despite recent reforms meant to improve transparency, it's likely that fewer than half the names of companies that have benefited from the program will be made public.

Efforts to increase transparency over the program include new forms that companies benefiting from the program are asked to file. However, it's estimated that only half filed the forms that include employment, wages and other data, according to the state Department of Taxation.

State tax director Kurt Kawafuchi said officials are taking a variety of steps to get more companies to file the forms. That could include assessing penalties of up to $6,000 per company in certain cases. The lack of more data makes it difficult to asses the benefits of the credits.

"Unfortunately, it's hard," Kawafuchi said. "I don't have any comment (on that) because we don't have the complete picture."

The incentives, which were created in 1999 and significantly expanded in 2001, provide a 100-percent tax credit to Hawai'i residents investing in local technology companies and another 20-percent research tax credit. They were created with the goal of boosting Hawai'i's economy and moving it away from dependency on tourism.

However, the credits also have been criticized as being overly generous, failing to produce offsetting economic benefits, being shrouded in secrecy, and in some cases, creating only temporary movie industry jobs.
What's high-tech?

The list of companies benefiting from the program points to the successes of the tax credits, but also highlights concerns that in some cases the program is benefiting companies that don't fit the traditional high-technology mold.

Many companies on the list — such as medical device maker Hoana Medical, tissue engineering company Tissue Genesis Inc., ocean engineering company Navatek and digital media developer Blue Lava Technologies — fit the mold of innovative companies that can spur the growth of a high-tech sector.

The list also includes a host of TV- and film-production companies, including the producer of ABC's "Lost" series as well as music recording firms.

Other companies benefiting from the program include a former guava farm, a timber grower and an O'ahu exporter of deep-sea water. The list also includes a company that sells swimming lessons on DVD, the producer of comedian Andy Bumatai's TV talk show and a company formed by Hilo mixed martial arts fighter BJ Penn.

First Hawaiian Bank, insurer AIG Hawaii, DTRIC Insurance and Royal State Insurance are other nontraditional high-tech companies benefiting from the program.

In some cases, nonhigh-tech companies qualify for the program by creating what's sometimes referred to as a "drop-down" subsidiary, in which a portion of their information technology operations are placed into subsidiaries that qualify for technology tax credits.

Some question whether such a strategy stretches the intent of the program by shifting employees into a subsidiary that provides similar services or sells services primarily to the parent company. That could allow a parent company to get investment tax credits on what otherwise would be operating expenses.

"I think the fantasy was that we were going to create companies like Microsoft — more technology-related, as opposed to companies creating a new (electronic) filing system," said Lowell Kalapa, director of the Tax Foundation of Hawai'i. "There's certainly nothing wrong with modernizing the age-old tasks you have to do, but does that really create the cutting-edge, high-technology jobs that we think the high-technology industry is supposed to be creating?"

Information released by the state is limited to company names and excludes details such as what each business does, how many people it employs and how much money it raised.

The data show that companies benefiting from the credits reported having 1,375 full-time employees as of late last year. Another 2,781 people were employed as independent contractors. However, 2,111 of those jobs were in the performing arts as opposed to the technology sector.
filings incomplete

Not all companies benefiting from the program are required to file forms disclosing employment and other data, while other firms may no longer be in business, said Jeff Au, managing director for Honolulu venture capital firm PacifiCap Management Inc. That means the benefits of the program are underreported.

"The filings aren't complete," Au said. "That means the benefits are being underestimated. In reality, more jobs would have been created rather than less."

Companies in the performing arts received the most investments last year — nearly $110 million — followed by nonfossil-fuel companies, which raised $47.8 million.

Au said the credits generated much-needed investment capital for local businesses, especially during tough economic times. From that standpoint the credits are a success, he said.

"If you look at the costs, the costs are high, but if you look at the benefits, the benefits are even higher," Au said. "When you take all the benefits and all the costs, do the benefits exceed the costs? I think when you look at the numbers, the benefits clearly exceed the costs."

According to the report, companies benefiting from the credit spent $363 million last year against $194 million in revenues. Overall, these companies reported paying $2.1 million in excise taxes. The report doesn't include information on taxes paid by contractors, payroll taxes and personal income taxes paid by qualifying companies and their employees.

Under changes to the tax credit program implemented this year, investors in eligible technology companies can receive tax credits only equal to the amount invested. Before the change, investors could get a maximum tax credit equal to 200 percent of their investment.

Additionally, the new law limits the amount of credits that can be claimed annually to a maximum of 80 percent of an individual's state income tax liability. The changes also prevent Mainland investors from trading state tax credits with local investors in exchange for greater equity in a company.

Industry advocates complained that the changes would drastically reduce the amount of money local and Mainland investors will pump into Hawai'i technology companies.

The expectation is the changes, along with a slowing economy, will significantly reduce future costs of the tax credits, said tax director Kawafuchi.

"Definitely," he said. The credits "are still very generous, but it's not as generous as in the past," Kawafuchi said.

"I think in these current economic conditions, there's less of an appetite because people have less profits and less taxable income."