In 2015, many countries adopted the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , there by committing to a vision of a low- carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable future for all. The world events leading to and after the signing of the agreement have shown that climate issues are becoming a reality; for instance, 2016 was the hottest year on record with the average global temperature at almost 1 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under the Paris Agreement, countries have developed nationally determined contributions (NDCs), national adaptation plans and mid-...
The European Union together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the 12th of December pledged €500 million for research and innovations in agriculture for the next 3 years (2018-2020). EU will provide 270 million, focusing on agriculture and food systems research for development while the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match this by $300 million pledge which will focus on climate change related innovations through research in agriculture The EU is the largest donor for development aid, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also the largest philanthropist organization...
Drones are being used in various fields and agriculture is not an exception. Drones are also known as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and in agriculture there have been used initially in pest control and land use monitoring. T he World Food Progamme (WFP) has been using drones and satellites within the context of food emergency situation. A recent publication on WFP VAM, a SoundCloud of audio recordings, discusses how drones and satellites help in WFP’s work. Two experts are on the interview Sarah Muir, VAM remote sensing analyst, Haidar Baqir, IT engineer, and Ariona Aubrey from WFP's legal...
WSIS has announced the opening of the WSIS Prizes 2018 and they are encouraging all the stakeholders to SUBMIT their project descriptions to the WSIS Prizes contest from 11 September 2017 – 2 January 2018. The e-Agriculture team encourages eligible projects in agriculture to submit their projects for this prestigious award. WSIS Prizes are a major highlight of the WSIS Forum every year and they recognize outstanding initiatives by governments, private sector, and civil society that leverage the contributions of ICT for the benefit our society. Projects related to ICTs in Agriculture fall...
The Digitalisation in Agriculture session will discuss how to successfully integrate innovative digital technologies into agriculture and agribusiness. In this session, young ICT4Ag innovators, service providers, representatives of farmer organizations and policy makers will share their...
The historical developmental path runs from the agricultural to the industrial revolution. When it comes to Africa, the question raised is Run or walk first? In essence, will technology leap frog Africa’s development? The Economist Special Report delves into this debate in-depth. Technology and innovation are a bedrock of development in richer countries and the GDP per person between countries is influenced by productivity. Asian countries – with Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China embraced the world’s largest technologies to build stronger manufacturing economies. However, African countries...
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has released the " Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 ". This report was launched during the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) 2017 , in Hammamet, Tunisia. According to ITU, the Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 is a flagship publication widely recognized as the key reference point for the world's most reliable and impartial global data and analysis on the state of global ICT development. Brief notes on the Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 Abstract (as published in the official website)...
From 16 to 27 October, e-Agriculture Team organized the “introduction to drones in agriculture’ learning activity . This self-learning activity is intended to increase the appreciation of and knowledge on the use of drones in agriculture and rural development to members and followers of the e-Agriculture Community of Practice (CoP). During the second week of the activity participants reviewed academic literature on drones, including the ongoing research from Catheline Pieters on the monitoring of orchards using drones. The participants also had the opportunity to present their work during a...
The G7 Agriculture ministerial meeting took place in Bergamo, Italy, on 14 and 15 October. The Agriculture Ministers of the G7 Countries, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Economy of the African Union , representatives of the European Union and international organizations such as FAO , OECD , IFAD and WFP attended the meeting. The Ministers discussed the protection of producers' income against market crises and emergencies related to natural disasters and climate change and the role of agricultural cooperation in migration management. Ministers acknowledged that the current...
The European Commission is offering to cover the travel and accommodation costs of 50 EU and 50 African based digital entrepreneurs to showcase their services and technology during the 6th EU-Africa Business Forum , on November 27th in Abidjan. The selected entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to showcase their services and technology to investors and decision makers during a Startup Fair and attend a number of side events dedicated to entrepreneurship, digital economy, energy and agriculture. The deadline for submissions is October 20th. The arrival in Abidjan is scheduled on November...
The Digitalisation in Agriculture session will discuss how to successfully integrate innovative digital technologies into agriculture and agribusiness. In this session, young ICT4Ag innovators, service providers, representatives of farmer organizations and policy makers will share their...