Cover photo: Irrigating rice fields in Sirajganj, Bangladesh. Photo: Haseeb Md. Irfanullah. This post was originally published by I NASP blog and is reposted here for information sharing purposes A research system is basically made up of four components: accessing, conducting, communicating, and utilizing research. While we often talk about the first three, use of our research in policy and practice is less frequently discussed in developing countries. Discussions at a recent workshop in Bangladesh about recent agricultural and biological science research projects revealed opportunities to...
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has organized the Digital Agriculture Transformation Seminar which will be held on the 12th and 13th of June, 2019. The theme of the seminar is 'The challenges to be addressed'. The two day seminar will focus on the transformational digital technologies such as smart phones, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud-based services, and smart and prediction technologies such as artificial technologies and interconnected data-driven systems such as blockchain technologies. The purpose of the seminar is to foster an exchange among stakeholders (policy-makers,...
The e-Agriculture community is now above 15,000 users . e-Agriculture is a global community of practice, where people from all over the world exchange information, ideas, and resources related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for sustainable agriculture and rural development. Becoming a member of e-Agriculture Community of Practice provides possibilities to: Connect with other community members and share experiences Follow news and blogs published on the e-Agriculture platform Shar e good practices in the use of ICTs in agriculture Learn about new digital trends...
Pitch AgriHack, the annual competition that awards young entrepreneurs in ICTs for agriculture (ICT4Ag) is open for applications . Now in its fourth year, Pitch AgriHack is an initiative by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) that supports ICT4Ag entrepreneurs through capacity building and funding to accelerate youth employment and agricultural transformation. Pitch AgriHack 2019 involves: a competition followed by a pitching session in Accra a partnership and investment readiness training boot cam p for finalist start-ups; grants and facilitation of access to...
by Tom Price, Independent Writer for ICT4D Conference Humans have been farming the African landscape for thousands of years, and not a great deal has changed over the many centuries. The slow rhythms of the agricultural seasons are what really drive this continent with more than 60 percent of the population working on the land. But change is afoot. Digital technology is introducing remarkable innovations to agriculture through accessible mechanization, improving farmers resilience to shocks like floods, and identifying land improvements. The mechanical power of the tractor revolutionized...
The organisers of Africa’s leading conference on technology assisted learning and training, eLearning Africa , have announced that, for the first time, the event will include a special programme of seminars, discussions and debates about learning and training for Africa’s farming and food sector...
Today is the EU Digital Day and the EU Member States signed three Declarations to pool efforts and resources for accelerating digital developments in key areas that are expected to bring tangible benefits to states economies and societies. Digital Day is a unique event intended to enable the EU and interested Member States to pool efforts and resources with a view to accelerating digital developments in key areas that can bring tangible benefits to our economies and our societies. #DigitalDay2019 The digital day "brings Member States and EU institutions together with partners from industry,...
To mark its tenth anniversary, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2019 will convene under the theme, ‘Information and Communication Technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’.WSIS is the world’ s largest annual gathering of the information and communications...
The Government of Japan and FAO have handed over to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement a project that is aimed at strengthening small farmers overcome bird flu and fall armyworm (FAW). Amongst other things the project provided the following tools - For HPAI, an active surveillance system consisting of two Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machines will be used for the rapid detection of influenza viruses. Whereas for FAW, 340 government extension officers will be provided with smartphones equipped with the FAW Monitoring and Early Warning...
There is a growing acceptance of blockchain use in food and agriculture. This comes as part of the growth of ICTs in the last decade and technology has promised to open many opportunities to overcome some of the challenges faced in agriculture. For example, technology can allow more inclusion, simplification of process within the agricultural systems, including on-farm and off-farm activities. In light of blockchains in agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with its partners have published three documents so far on blockchains. These publications are: Emerging...
The organisers of Africa’s leading conference on technology assisted learning and training, eLearning Africa , have announced that, for the first time, the event will include a special programme of seminars, discussions and debates about learning and training for Africa’s farming and food sector...0 comments
To mark its tenth anniversary, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2019 will convene under the theme, ‘Information and Communication Technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’.WSIS is the world’ s largest annual gathering of the information and communications...