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Educating with Immersive Technology in Food and Agriculture – an International Training Centre of the ILO & FAO Webinar

The e-agriculture community would like to extend an invitation to a webinar on “Immersive Technology in Agrifood: Extended Reality for Training & Education,” scheduled for February 8th at 10 am CET. In the ever-evolving landscape of agriculture, embracing innovative solutions is paramount. This webinar will talk about the impact of Extended Reality (XR) — encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) — in reshaping education and advisory services within the agrifood sector.

Why is this important?

Revolutionizing Education: XR technologies provide immersive, hands-on experiences that transcend traditional learning methods. Discover how these innovations can elevate training, formal education, and vocational training in agrifood systems.

Addressing Limitations: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the constraints of conventional approaches. Explore how XR technologies can bridge gaps, especially in the face of restricted physical interactions.

Showcasing Innovations: Get a firsthand look at advancements in VR, AR, MR, and XR technologies. Learn from early adopters and witness tangible examples showcasing their applications.

FAO's and ITCILO's Roles: Engage in discussions on how organizations like FAO and ITCILO can support the adoption of immersive technology for capacity development among smallholder farmers. Foster collaboration between the public and private sectors for sustainable impact. Your insights and participation will be invaluable! 

 Date & Time: February 8th at 10 am

 Register Here: https://lnkd.in/gWPx6CRm Let's explore the future of agrifood together!

Final competition of 2022 Youth Hackathon for Reducing Food Loss and Waste held in Beijing

As a satellite event of the World Food Forum (WFF), the final competition of 2022 Youth Hackathon for Reducing Food Loss and Waste (FLW) was held in Beijing and simulcast globally on 19 October. After more than 3 hours of exciting competition, 9 out of 15 teams from 8 countries won the first, second and third prizes in 3 tracks.

Up to 14% of food produced globally undergoes food loss between the post-harvest and retail stages of the supply chain, and 17% of total global food production may be wasted at the retail, food-service and consumer stages. In order to raise awareness among young people on reducing FLW, and encourage youth to contribute wisdom and solutions to reduce global FLW in innovative and inclusive ways, the WFF, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) China Office, the Department of International Cooperation of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the Center for International Agricultural Research of CAAS, and the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) jointly held the 2022 Youth Hackathon for Reducing FLW. Since its launch in May, the Hackathon has attracted creative proposals from 21 countries. After three rounds of selection, 15 teams made it to the final.

The jury committee was composed of seven experts from well-known international agricultural institutions, which are Carlos Watson, Representative of FAO China Office; Rosa S. Rolle, FLW Team Leader of Food and Nutrition Division of FAO; Aggrey Agumya, Director for Research and Innovation of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA); Yingjun Cao, Director General of Foreign Affairs Department of National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration of China; Yu Qian, Deputy Director General of Department of International Cooperation of CAAS; Fengying Nie, Deputy Director General of Agricultural Information Institute of CAAS and Executive Deputy Director General of Center for Agricultural Research of CAAS.

In his opening speech, Carlos Watson noted that FAO highly appreciate innovative ideas from young generations to transform our agri-food system. “FAO is committed to working together with all partners, especially the youth for innovation, to address the problem of FLW, in support of achieving the 2030 Agenda, and FAO’s vision of Four Betters—Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life for all, leaving no one behind.”

The final competition included three tracks—New Pattern, New Technology and New Service. After a comprehensive evaluation by professional juries, 9 teams stood out:

Track 1. New Service

First Place: Clear Plate

Second Place: The Solution of Minimizing Post-Harvest Cereal Losses

Third Place: NOSATOR-FLOW 

Track 2. New Technology

First Place: Completing Mushroom——Mushroom Full Life Cycle Loss Reduction by AI

Second Place: Saving Food from Soil 

Third Place: Thirfood

Track 3. New Pattern

First Place: Agrotech + Fresh

Second Place: “Wohua Model" of Agricultural Socialization Service Helps to Save Grain and Reduce Loss 

Third Place: Garbage in Treasure out

Fengying Nie highlighted in her closing speech that the Hackathon calls on youth from all countries to collaborate and contribute to the sustainable development of global agriculture, to ensure food security and nutrition, and to reduce global hunger. “This Hackathon is the first event of FAO-CAAS innovation platform and the first Hackathon jointly hosted by FAO and CAAS. Many thanks to different partners for their support in launching the hackathon. We will continue to cooperate and make more innovative contributions to reducing food loss and waste,” said Nie.

Regional Youth Consultation - Who will stay then? How digitalization can bring youth back to agriculture in Europe and Central Asia

Background

Youth, across Europe and Central Asia, is leaving the rural areas and thus the agricultural sector.

Challenges related to access to knowledge, markets, natural- and financial resources force the younger generation to leave the rural areas to the more urbanized parts of their countries, where there’s a higher chance to find better working opportunities. This not only means that the rural areas are facing the consequences of the in-country migration, but the agricultural sector remains in the hand of the older generation, who often prefer and follow traditional practices and have a conservative attitude toward digital solutions.

Amid the increasing demand for food, the deteriorating climate, and other challenges of today, we need the courage of youth, its enthusiasm, and idealism to address these challenges and build sustainable food systems for all.

Digital technology can address the challenge of youth migration and attract youth back to agriculture. Connectivity, mobile adoption, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies are opening doors to new opportunities, enhancing the performance of the sector and improving working conditions. However, they also pose certain risks, such as of digital divides between regions or businesses and between urban and rural areas.

The digital technology dividends are not automatic. Some rural areas in Europe and Central Asia are still falling behind when it comes to the adoption of new technologies due to for instance bottlenecks in the broadband infrastructure, affordability, awareness, digital skills, and regulatory issues. This means that the agricultural sector of the region does not take full advantage of scientific breakthroughs and technological advances that can address globally relevant challenges of the agriculture sector. The younger generation can serve as accelerators and champions to support the digital transformation of the rural areas.

The bet is on youth.

The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia launched a series of youth consultations in December 2021, which also contributes to the regional aspirations of the World Food Forum. The first consultation was an overview session on Challenges and opportunities for rural youth. As part of the series, this year’s Youth Consultation will be held on October 20 under the title “Who will stay then? How digitalization can bring youth back to agriculture in Europe and Central Asia”. 

Event

This Youth Consultation aims to provide a platform for young farmers, digital innovators and academia to share their success stories, experiences, approaches, and key challenges related to the application of digital technologies in agriculture. The event will advocate for youth’s digital innovation, foster and strengthen the dialogues between stakeholders, and make youth's voices and concerns heard and considered.

As a result of engaging young speakers, the event is expected to challenge widespread knowledge about employment in agriculture and provide a platform to discuss the role of digital technologies in stimulating it.

The feedback gathered during the consultation will serve as a basis for REU’s Digital Agriculture Team and REU Regional Initiative on Empowering smallholders, family farms and youth to facilitate rural livelihoods and poverty reduction and to plan further the work around the challenges and opportunities identified during the event. Moreover, the regional youth consultations will also contribute to the Regional Youth Action Compendium by listing the key priority areas for youth action in Europe and Central Asia.

The event will explore:

• Good examples of youths’ engagement in agriculture. 
• Promising digital solutions in agriculture and good practices focusing on smallholders.
• Opportunities and barriers for the younger generation in rural areas to be involved in the agricultural sector.
• The concept of digital agriculture.   

Speakers include:

• Doris Letina, VP, European Council of Young Farmers
• Josh Thomas, Founder, Pastoral
• Endrit Ameti, CEO, BioTech Agriculture
• Gulnaz Iskakova, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University

The consultation is scheduled for 20 October 2022 at 12 AM (CEST) and will be held on Zoom. Russian interpretation will be available during the session. 

Any questions can be addressed to Veronika ([email protected]) and Valentin ([email protected]).

Registration link for online participation: https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vTOkuCdrTb2kt73MmO6stA  

FAO China and Pinduoduo organize webinar on smart agriculture

03/01/2022, Beijing - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Representation in China and Pinduoduo Inc. jointly held a webinar on how smart agriculture can bolster food production and security. 

The webinar Smart Agriculture in China: Role of Digital Technology in Agriculture aims to: a) explore and discuss the potential scenarios for smart agriculture; b) share the experiences of digital technology for agriculture in China, including cases from the Smart Agriculture Competition on strawberries and tomatoes, as well as best practices on smart fishing, smart husbandry, and smart farming in China. 

Representatives from FAO, Pinduoduo, China Agricultural University, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and finalists of the Smart Agriculture Competition took part and presented at the webinar.

 “Technology can bring real benefits to farmers and by extension to society at large,” said Carlos Watson, FAO representative to China. “FAO is a big supporter of initiatives to promote smart agriculture as it can boost food security and safety.” 

“Knowledge sharing is a key component of the adoption and proliferation of technology,” said Andre Zhu, Senior Vice President of Pinduoduo. “By organizing such sharing sessions, we want to help promote smart agriculture and its benefits and generate more interest in this very important sector of society.”  

The global agri-food systems require innovative solutions. Smart agriculture can play an important role in ensuring food security and nutrition for all, managing natural resources sustainably, and contributing to inclusive growth. Digitalization in agriculture can exert a tremendous positive impact by raising the level of efficiency across the food value chain, making agriculture more productive and sustainable. 

FAO is committed to innovation-powered solutions. By working closely with partners, it aims to harness the transformative power of technology to make our agri-food systems more efficient, sustainable and inclusive.  

Pinduoduo is a staunch supporter of smart agriculture through its annual Smart Agriculture Competition, which it organizes jointly with China Agricultural University and Zhejiang University with technical guidance from the FAO and Wageningen University & Research of the Netherlands. This year, hundreds of applicants from top research institutes around the world applied to join the competition. The result is expected to be announced next month.  

Webinar recording: https://fao.zoom.us/rec/share/EpKflgU-CBhxjEWc7-9zuHgm8Uz2Js_-3H3LnBo8Ee.. (Password: VtMGT!1!)

Actual implementation of e-peak (ECROP) survey project started in India -Mahrashtra

The actual implementation of the e-peak inspection project for farmers to register their own crops has been started. The e-Prop Survey project has been started on behalf of the Revenue Department to enable the farmers and this e-Peek survey is getting good response from the farmers in Mobile app in Maharashtra India and by the end of September 2021, 200 thousand account farmers in the state have used e-peak survey mobile amps. .

Advantages of e-peak survey project (ECROP MOBILE APPLICATION )

1. Direct co-operation of farmers for crop records hence farmers have the right to inspect their own crops. 2. Detailed crop survey will be recorded now. 3. Very useful for compiling village wise crops. 4. Information transmission will be easier as the list and indicators of crops are uniform at the state level. 5. Crop inspection records will be made while the crop is standing in the field and farm records will be updated immediately. 6. Information on horticultural crops, information on fruit crops, account holder of cash crops can be obtained. 7. Accurate information will be available for farmers direct benefit schemes like MUDBT, Pokra. 8. The Department of Agriculture, Department of Water Resources, Groundwater Survey System, Sugar Commissioner's Office will be able to accurately compile the required information. 9. Useful for facilitating sale of agricultural commodities at basic government procurement centers. 10. Accurate information will be available for crop insurance plan or purchase of grain / cotton at base price, sugarcane harvest planning of sugar factory. 11. Accurate information will be collected to operate agricultural income, potential production, markets and storage systems at the state or national level. 12. Help reduce the workload of Pondhi. 13. Compensation in case of crop damage due to natural calamities and help in proper assistance and simplification of crop insurance and process of settlement of crop damage claims. 14. Useful for information collection in agricultural calculation work. 15. Upstairs to agricultural marketing. read in local Marathi here - webshodhi

Scaling Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Maharashtra, India: An Analysis of Policies and Programmes

Adapting to Climate Change and reducing the risk of disasters have never been more pertinent than today. Under these challenging times, the WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS) brings to you a critical analysis of policies and programmes in its new publication titled “Scaling Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Maharashtra, India”.

The paper highlights the entry points or “windows of opportunity” for scaling-up sustainable land and water management efforts, focussing on the health of ecosystems and also improving equitable governance of natural resources for sustainable livelihoods.

Senior researcher, Arjuna Srinidhi, introduces the paper and the outlines the scope of the “Ecosystem-based Adaptation” project, jointly implemented by WOTR and TMG Research, in this blog:

Brief note on the Project:

The Ecosystem-based Adaptation initiatives are a part of the “Climate-SDGs Integration Project: Supporting the Implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda Through Ecosystem-based Adaptation” Funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Germany.

Together with partners in Guatemala and India, this project seeks to understand the criteria and preconditions for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures to contribute to both intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through participatory, multi-stakeholder dialogues at local and state levels. In India, the project is implemented by the Watershed Organisation trust and focuses on the semi-arid regions of Maharashtra.

Here evidence from case-studies, capacity building workshops and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogues are being used in an effort to bring local voices and experiences into state and national implementation processes. The project aims at establishing a Roadmap for Scaling-up EbA initiatives in the state.

To know more about the project see https://www.tmg-thinktank.com/iki