The Secretariat of Innovation of the Presidency of the Republic of El Salvador, FAO, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), held the Scientific Congress "Big Data in Agricultural Innovation", with the objective of exposing international trends, their application and potential for the modernization of agriculture and agro-industrial production processes.

Being agri-food one of the biggest challenges faced nationally and globally and expressed in SDG 2: “Zero hunger” of the Sustainable Development Agenda to 2030, this initiative arises with the objectives of implementing Big Data and bring coherence for the agricultural innovation ecosystem in El Salvador.

In this framework, an articulated space for exchange was developed with different actors from the private sector, academia and researchers, in which the needs of the sector and the initiatives in progress were announced and in which a joint action plan will be defined within the framework of the Innovation Ecosystem, with special emphasis on this sector promoting food security, economic and social development of the country.

Through the different interventions, the speakers presented how strengthening the capacity of agricultural communities to connect with knowledge banks, networks and institutions through information and communication technologies (ICTs) has improved opportunities for productivity, profitability, food security and employment in some regions.

In this regard, the FAO Representative, Diego Recalde, explained that FAO has been working on this approach through e-agriculture, which improves agricultural and rural development through information and communication processes, using technologies such as electronic devices, networks, mobile, services and applications; or other pre-existing technologies, such as landlines, televisions, radios and satellites. "Implementing a national e-Agriculture strategy is an essential first step for any country planning on the use of ICTs for agriculture."

In this sense, innovation in the agricultural sector based on data management requires the application of digital technologies that allow the integration of projects, research, territorial and climatic information as well as market trends and agricultural statistics to achieve agricultural innovation that point towards economic, social and environmental development. The event was attended by Dr. Sara Verónica Rodríguez from the University of Nuevo León, Mexico - National Coordinator Agro Big Data Group / CYTED, Mexico with the Keynote Conference "Agro Big Data for the agricultural modernization"; and Mr. Jonh Preissing, Director of the FAO Investment Center in Rome, with the presentation: “Agricultural Innovation Systems”. In addition, scientific research and successful national projects related to to agri-food were presented.

Among the most relevant cases, it stands out the digital mapping of functional properties of the soil by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the adoption of the Jobal´s hybrid coconut variety in the coastal area of El Salvador by the National Center of Agricultural Technology (CENTA) and the Agricultural Stress Index System by FAO.

This is the first congress held in the country on this thematic, where the application of innovation, science and advances in technology in favor of the development of the sector could be shown in combination, with the multisectoral participation of national and international actors.

Source: http://www.fao.org/elsalvador/noticias/detail-events/en/c/1253553/