FAO in Geneva Agriculture Trade Talks
- 16 February 2023, 15:00-16:15 CET
Throughout the ages, technological change – in agrifood systems and elsewhere – has brought gains in productivity, incomes and human well-being. The current world population of 8 billion[1] is expected to reach to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100[2].
Today, technological solutions are indispensable to feed a continuously growing population in the face of limited agricultural land, unsustainable natural resource use, and increasing shocks and stresses, including climate change. These solutions are needed to transform agrifood systems to make them more resilient, inclusive, sustainable and efficient leaving no one behind.
By bridging the information gap, improving access to market information, enhancing access to micro-finance, providing actionable advisories on managing pest and disease as well as improving agriculture human capital, digital technologies can help overcome the challenges of current agrifood systems. Recent advances in digital technologies, such as faster computers and mobile phones, sensors, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI), have led to ground-breaking equipment radically transforming the agricultural domain. The incorporation of these digital technologies in agriculture has introduced the new concept known as “digital agriculture.”
Digital agriculture presents many opportunities: it can raise productivity and allow for more careful crop, livestock, aquaculture, and forestry management; it can provide better working conditions and improved incomes and reduce the workload of farming; and it can generate new rural entrepreneurial opportunities. On the other hand, it can also pose various challenges.
With this background, this event will enable diverse group of panellists including the digital agriculture specialists and technology innovators to discuss the role of digitalization in contributing to more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable agriculture. It will examine some of the opportunities it provides and the associated challenges. Experts will also share their insights with a focus on African region as well as on the youth and technology and the role of the youth in the sustainable agriculture agenda.
This session will also provide an opportunity for the winners of the FAO-Geneva Trade Platform Hackathon: Imagining Apps for Sustainable Agriculture, which was held on 17 November 2022 and showcased how youth can contribute to transforming agriculture to become more sustainable and resilient through digital transformation to present their application designed to support sustainable fertilizer use by farmers. Further information on the event can be accessed here.[1]
List of speakers:
Mr Thembani Malapela- Knowledge/Information Management Officer, Office of Innovation, FAO: Mr Malapela will set the global/general scene in relation to digitalization in agriculture. (10 min)
Team ‘Winners’- The team will present their application on `Green Crop`, what substantive issue the app is trying to address, who are the targets, what are the limitations etc. (15 min)
Mr. Mo Saffaf- Head of Sales & Data Success, Agflow SA, Geneva, Switzerland. Mr Saffaf will present the real life example of the process on how their company brings/brought an application into life. (10 min)
Mr. Ken Lohento- Digital Agriculture and Strategy focal person at FAO Regional Office for Africa, Ghana. Mr Lohento will provide a regional perspective how digital technology can play an important role in the region. (10 min)
Mr. Caesar Vulley- Decent Employment Specialist, FAO Regional Office for Africa, Ghana. Mr Vulley will focus on the youth and technology and their role in the sustainable agriculture agenda. (10 min)
Footnotes
1.United Nations. Day of Eight Billion. https://www.un.org/en/dayof8billion#:~:text=On%2015%20November%202022%2C%20the,nutrition%2C%20personal%20hygiene%20and%20medicine
[2] United Nations World Population Prospects 2022. https:www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.p...