The surge in digital technologies – also called the “fourth industrial revolution” - over the past few decades, has virtually transformed every sector of the global economy. The agriculture sector is no exception.

The digital revolution is changing the way agriculture is managed in more developed countries and slowly but surely, the way agriculture will be handled in developing economies to build more productive, profitable and sustainable agricultural systems.

In this revolution, all economic actors have a role to play. With the private sector as the main driver for the technological aspects, the roll-out of this revolution to small-scale producers is part of the mission of government and public institutions – to make digital technologies work for all. FAO in particular, will have to mainstream these technologies in its core activities, ensuring that it has the necessary capacities to advise governments effectively.The informal seminar will present a selection of precision agriculture and other disruptive technologies including the internet of things, artificial intelligence, high power computing, cloud and big data analysis, blockchains and advanced weather forecasting. It will consider potential pathways to their adoption by small-scale producers and look critically at the barriers preventing their uptake, at scale.