ICT Update is a regular newsletter from CTA that focuses on topical issues in ICT for agriculture. The latest issue focuses on Precision Agriculture for Smallholder Farmers. This issue is hinged on the estimates that it is projected that by 2050 the population growth will have outgrown food production . The issue centers on this theme through the Market-led, User-owned ICT4Ag Enabled Information Service (MUIIS) a project funded by the Netherlands Space Office and implemented by CTA with partners. The goals of this project are to increase crop yield, farmers’ income, the use of agri-inputs and...
mVAM at the World Food Programme and World Agroforestry Centre published a case study where Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) was used in Kenya to collect data on nutrition indicators. In most projects in the field, it is expensive to collect data in some cases in remote areas or conflict areas can also be difficult. CATI was used in rural areas to collect data on two of WFP’s corporate nutrition indicators – Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) and Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDDW). The project used the CATI to collect nutrition data as through the Face-to-Face (F2F) surveys...
This announcement is shared for informational purpose to the e-Agriculture Community as announced by CTA in dgroups . CTA is looking for articles for the forthcoming issue of ICT Update , which will deal with blockchain in agricultur e Blockchain can be defined as a digital ledger that allows storage and exchange of information in a decentralized, immutable, autonomous and trustworthy manner. It allows actors engaged in a transaction to quickly share information, which can include financial data, without a central authority. No single actor can damage the records. Blockchain technology is...
The e-Agriculture Team is inviting interested person to a Twitter chat on "The use of blockchain for Agriculture" which will be held on Twitter The following are the details:- Date : Tuesday 27 February 2018 Time : 11:00 to 18:00 (CEST) ( Time convertor ) Hashtag : #AgBlockchain Blockchain technology The blockchain became popular and permeated most sectors and saw the increasing application of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin. Blockchain technology is basically a decentralized record-keeping system that allows global citizens worldwide to share a digital ledger to track transactions...
CTA has published four success stories from East Africa that shows how ICTs are enabling farmers to access information which allows them to improve their farming practices. The stories detail how women’s lives are transformed, how ICTs have tapped into the unbanked, and how they are facilitating credit lines. Some brief notes Transforming the lives of women farmers - The first story tells of a project managed by the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET). "The Enhancing Access to Agricultural Information using ICTs in Apac District (EAAI) project used radio programmes and mobile phones to tackle...
Forests are part of our ecosystem and they cover 30% of the earth’s surface. Forests provides lumber, provides fuel to cook and boil water, provide nutritious food, offer medicines, animal fodder and homes for animals and are a source of income for many. Due to climate change and unstainable human practices forests are fast disappearing. In the SDG framework, deforestation is regarded as a major challenge and the Sustainable Development Goal 15 . Here are some facts and figures Forests Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood. This includes some 70 million indigenous...
Evidence have shown that technology has the potential to improve agricultural productivity. Specifically ICTs can help governments and developmental organizations to enhance food security and improve rural livelihoods through both knowledge and skills transfer. In most cases also improve the capacities of communities in agricultural productivity, pests control and easier access to markets. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) adopts innovations in information and communication technology (ICT) for agriculture and rural development. In a recent article by its President,...
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) has published a Call for Expression of Interest . This call supports the usage of drones to ensure that smallholder farming needs to become more productive, more sustainable and more profitable are supported. In the recent past, CTA has supported the use of drones in agriculture in their member countries. For example,in 2017 CTA partnered with leading private sector operators, and assisted ICT start-ups in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Jamaica, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and...
To mark the 2018 International Women’s Day (IWD 2018) FAO, IFAD and WFP will organize this year’s annual event on how media and ICT can empower rural women and girls to transform their lives, as a central element in the efforts to eliminate poverty and hunger, and build inclusive and sustainable...
The FAO Technical Network on Sustainable Crop Production and Agroecology will hold a Seminar on FAO’s Farmer Field Schools programme and Global Platform on Wednesday in FAO HQ with remote participation online at http://www.fao.org/webcast/en/ . All interested e-Agriculture CoP members can participate remotely The Farmer Field Schools (FFS) was pioneered by FAO in 1989 as an approach to integrated pest management in rice production in Asia. The advantage of the FFS is that they offer a hands-on learning that allows agricultural knowledge to be applied to promote sustainable agriculture...
To mark the 2018 International Women’s Day (IWD 2018) FAO, IFAD and WFP will organize this year’s annual event on how media and ICT can empower rural women and girls to transform their lives, as a central element in the efforts to eliminate poverty and hunger, and build inclusive and sustainable...