ICTWorks published a guest article that summarizes the research findings on Smallholder Farmers Use of Mobile Phones for Agriculture. The research was done in Kenya and examined the use of ‘m-services’ by farmers. The study-examined factors affecting the likelihood of Kenyan farmers’ adoption of m-services specifically related to agriculture and livestock information, buying and selling products, and alerts about agricultural or livestock activities.The findings were that:- Farmers are using apps, but adoption is low Digital divides exist in wealth, gender and education Women lag (slightly)...
By Thembani Malapela In brief AI and Machine Learning technologies could transform the agri-food systems and help ending hunger. UN-Wide System is adopting the Artificial Intelligence in its programmes. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is adopting and experimenting with AI and Machine Learning across the agriculture domain. FAO is also aware of the impact of AI and is now a signatory to the " Rome Call for AI Ethics " Introduction In 2017, l wrote a blog on whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve agricultural productivit y and at that time, the...
We would like to get feedback on the available digital solutions in agriculture, which the community can re-use or upscale. Many smallholder farmers in the global south require on-farm digital solutions to support them through-out the value chains and in their agricultural practices. COVID-19 has opened opportunities for the adoption of Digital Agriculture Solutions in various functions within value chains. Preliminary requirements Send your details through this link Digital Solutions in Agriculture Submissions should be in one of these languages: French, English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic,...
UN Innovation Network has published the Blockchain Practical Guide as a public good. The book explains the road to blockchain and its key features and further offers a blockchain decision tree. Blockchain technologies introduce new systems of trust and exchange on which users can send value directly from one party to another without the need for intermediaries. For UN Entities, applications of blockchain technology include cash and remittance transfers, supply chain tracking, record keeping, digital identity, increasing transparency and many others. "Many UN agencies are using the assisting...
The IST-Africa 2020 conference, supported by the European Commission (EC) and the African Union Commission (AUC), addresses a series of societal challenges. The Kampala INSPIRE Hackathon 2020 is a contribution to the joint efforts to solve these challenges. The hackathon addresses some of the key...
Berlin 16 January 2020 . The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted a side event at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture ( GFFA ) 2020 meeting. The theme of the event was ‘Towards the establishment of an International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture’. The side event was organized by FAO to present, discuss and validate the concept note for the establishment of the Digital Council as requested by the GFFA 2019 Communiqué . The meeting was opened by Mr. Friedrich Wacker, the Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Global Food Policy, BMEL and was attended...
The 3rd session of the AP-IS Steering Committee is planned to review the latest research findings, current implementation of the Master Plan 2019-2022 by member countries, ESCAP and partner organizations and discuss emerging trends and technologies which affect the implementation and agree on...
In continuation of the efforts to promote sustainable ICTs for agriculture and to share knowledge on emerging technologies that holds great promise for agriculture, FAO-ITU have released the next in the series of E-agriculture in Action publication. About the Big Data for Agriculture publication Entitled the E-agriculture in Action: Big Data for Agriculture this publication tries to highlight the ecosystem needed to support data driven agriculture with the help of case studies from leading organizations. Title : E-agriculture in Action: Big Data for Agriculture Card page : http://www.fao.org/...
The curtain came down for the FAO Digital Agriculture Transformation Semina r on the 13th of June at FAO headquarters. The seminar was attended by several hundred participants and included government ministers, representatives of civil society and the private sector, non-governmental organizations and others. The FAO Director General had the pleasure to invite Mr. Chang-Gyu Hwang, CEO, Korea Telecom (KT) who opened the seminar with an impressive summary of the possibilities that digital technologies have for agriculture, and what KT has done and is doing. The two day event saw the first day...
The FAO Digital Services Portfolio is a project that was started in November 2016 in Rulindo, Rwanda and Tambacounda, Senegal.The project included the development and distribution of 4 mobile applications to smallholder farmers. This project comes as a realisation that digital services are changing how farmers work and also from the understanding that ICTs can maximise various social support services for farmers – such services include rural advisory services, financial services and social protection programmes, access to market information and disease control. The four apps were the Cure and...
The IST-Africa 2020 conference, supported by the European Commission (EC) and the African Union Commission (AUC), addresses a series of societal challenges. The Kampala INSPIRE Hackathon 2020 is a contribution to the joint efforts to solve these challenges. The hackathon addresses some of the key...
The 3rd session of the AP-IS Steering Committee is planned to review the latest research findings, current implementation of the Master Plan 2019-2022 by member countries, ESCAP and partner organizations and discuss emerging trends and technologies which affect the implementation and agree on...
