The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has released the " Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 ". This report was launched during the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) 2017 , in Hammamet, Tunisia. According to ITU, the Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 is a flagship publication widely recognized as the key reference point for the world's most reliable and impartial global data and analysis on the state of global ICT development. Brief notes on the Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 Abstract (as published in the official website)...
The regional forum on e-agriculture for Central and South-East Europe began on the 13th of November 2017. The forum is themed, “ Precise and integrated response for sustainable farming and inclusive food systems ” is being held in Novi Sad, Serbia. The agenda of the event is available here , and is comprised of an opening ceremony, high-level roundtable discussions and parallel sessions. Some of the themes to be discussed, Sustainable intensification of agricultural production ICTs assisted Food Systems ICT assisted Climate Smart Agriculture Empowerment of smallholders and family farmers...
The CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas team won US$100,000 grant to refine a mobile application that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose crop diseases . This new app will attempt to solve the problem of pests and diseases that be face farmers with small holder farmers hardly hit. Its estimated that every year pests and diseases costs billions of dollars to potential agricultural economy as they damage agricultural outputs such as crops, livestock and fish harvests. Technology plays a big role in warning the communities of possible outbreaks and also as a monitoring tool...
Join us for our next e-Agriculture webinar on cross-sector partnerships in ICT4Ag with Mercy Corps presenting the ZFU Ecofarmer Combo. When: Wednesday 6 December 2017 at 2 PM UTC 3 PM Central European Time 4 PM Zimbabwe Where: Live webinar on Adobe Connect: register here to receive instructions The...
Kaleidoscope 2017: Challenges for a data-driven society is the ninth in a series of peer-reviewed academic conferences organized by ITU to bring together a wide range of views from universities, industry and research institutions. The aim of the Kaleidoscope conferences is to identify emerging...
Join us for our next e-Agriculture webinar on cross-sector partnerships in ICT4Ag with Mercy Corps presenting the ZFU Ecofarmer Combo. When: Wednesday 6 December 2017 at 2 PM UTC 3 PM Central European Time 4 PM Zimbabwe Where: Live webinar on Adobe Connect: register here to receive instructions The ZFU Ecofarmer Combo is a bundle of services developed by Econet, the largest Mobile Network Provider in Zimbabwe, and the Zimbabwe Farmers Union, with the support of Mercy Corps. It was one of the best promising practices submitted for the e-Agriculture “call for good and promising practices”...
CGIAR scientists have presented a report with 10 innovations for climate action in agriculture. The publication aims to support developing countries to develop locally tailored adaptation strategies that will contribute to the achievement of SDGs. This report comes as the world leaders meet for the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, where it was launched. Watch the video : 10 innovations for climate action in agriculture Video credit: CGIAR Brief overview of the innovations Agriculture needs to produce 60% more food by 2050 to feed the growing world population yet agriculture...
This article surmises that in Africa technology can help farmers not lose income by knowing ahead when to sell their produce. Technology can connect farmers to the markets; market failure is an outcome of a communication failure between farmers and markets. The solution of 2KUZE , is a commercial system designed by MasterCard which links farmers and trading in a virtual market place, using text messages on basic mobile phones. This is an example of the many simple technological innovations that can transform agriculture in African countries, and improve income of smallholder farmers. The...
The subject of technology and gender has intrigued many interested with ICTs in agriculture. GSMA recently published a report entitled, “ Mapping the mobile money gender gap: insight from Cote D’lvoire and Mali ”. One of the key findings of the report is that while there has been significant growth in mobile money transfer in the last ten years, there are still wide gender gaps in mobile money account ownership and usage. The report further notes that there is a need for a better strategy to target and reach more women with mobile money services. The study paints a comprehensive picture of...
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) is hosted by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and presided over by Fiji; signaling the return of climate change to the international agenda. This meeting comes just in time when the world is seeing climate induced catastrophies in many parts of the world. At this UN Climate Change Conference, nations will meet to advance the aims of the Paris Agreement and measure progress of its implementation guidelines. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is representing as a leader of the...
Join us for our next e-Agriculture webinar on cross-sector partnerships in ICT4Ag with Mercy Corps presenting the ZFU Ecofarmer Combo. When: Wednesday 6 December 2017 at 2 PM UTC 3 PM Central European Time 4 PM Zimbabwe Where: Live webinar on Adobe Connect: register here to receive instructions The...