WeRobotics has just announced the WeRobotics Online Training Academy to provide professional training on the use of drones by developmental agencies.The academy is co-managed with TechChange who have offered dynamic online training platform and in 2017 they trained over 7,000 people from 155 countries. On the other hand, WeRobotics has provided trainings to many professionals in the following organizations the World Food Program (WFP), UN Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF , Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), local universities and many national &...
Do you know talented African web developers? As part of the ICT4D conference, John Deere is hosting a hackathon that seeks to improve African smallholder farmers' access to tractors. This application development competition is an opportunity for developers from across the continent to showcase their skills, connect with tech leaders from around the world, and develop tools to serve others. The winning teams will receive USD$2,000, USD$1,000, & USD$500 for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place respectively at the ICT4DConference , attended by technology leaders from around the world To learn more and...
A recently published pre-print article details the usage of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for environmental monitoring. While the article was written within the specific armpit of a project, it raises interesting issues on the use of drones for data collection, ecosystems and river monitoring. The usage of drones, UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) continues to be widespread within agriculture. Drones are used in cropping, monitoring plants, pests control and many other areas including forest and environmental monitoring. A recently published pre-print article by a group of scholars...
It is widely believed that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will change the world, but how much are those innovations already contributing to improving the world? This webinar (part of an ongoing series around ICT4D) will explore how AI and machine learning tools can be applied and...
In January, l attended the webinar on Blockchain for Development, which was hosted by NETHOPE solutions. With the cryptocurrency buzz and the bitcoin bullish behavior l was curious to learn about this new technology and how it is applied in development and also how it can be assimilated within food and agriculture. The webinar title was “ Blockchain for Development: Moving from Hype to Reality ”. This was the fifth of the ongoing ICT4D webinar series by the NetHope community What is blockchain? It is a shared ledger that records the history of transactions -It cannot be altered without...
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...
FAO podcast published two podcasts that focus on what drones have to offer for agriculture. This part of Episode 7 of TARGET: Zero hunger . The Philippines Drone Pilot program In this first podcast, details the experience of FAO in using drones to gather detailed land and crop images for disaster preparedness. In this program about 25 FAO and government technical experts were deployed in the country to support drone missions and assess areas where farmlands were at risk from natural disasters. Click below and listen to the podcast or download transcript Interview with Brian McCornack- Kansas...
African Union publishes a Decision EX . CL/Dec. 986-1007 (XXXII), the Executive Council of the African Union (AU), requests the AU and Member States to harness drones for agriculture as one of three emerging technologies of relevance for African development. The recently held African Union saw its Executive Council of the African Union requesting the AU and Member States to harness drones for agriculture. Drones or the Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been in existence for decades and initially used in the military. Today drones have permeated the development world and has been applied in...
A review of research on how information services based on mobile phone technology can improve the lives of smallholder farmers has found only patchy evidence of success. The study conducted through an exploratory literature review focused on the impact of mobile phone-enabled services on farmers. They looked at 23 studies of such services in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The study was conducted against a commonly held notion that these services hold a promise for developing world farmers and that these mobile services can improve their yields. Mobile phone services for farmers covered...
It is widely believed that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will change the world, but how much are those innovations already contributing to improving the world? This webinar (part of an ongoing series around ICT4D) will explore how AI and machine learning tools can be applied and...
