Smallholder and family farmers face significant social, economic and environmental challenges in their everyday lives which demand timely access to information. Yet information and communication services are not always easy to access in rural areas. Numerous barriers exist, including illiteracy, speaking a minority language, inadequate or non-existent infrastructures, as well as low income and purchasing power, making it difficult to obtain communication devices such as radio receivers, mobile phones or computers. At the same time, women, youth or minority groups can suffer from socially-constructed roles that inhibit their participation in decision-making. Participatory communication processes, community media, and local adoption of ICTs have proven essential to overcoming such limitations and increasing the self-reliance of millions of farmers worldwide.