If you have worked and lived on the farm you will agree that farm labour is one of the key inputs and cost center in the farming system. In most countries farm labour is controlled, that is their condition of service and earnings. Can technology halve or eliminate labour costs? As l was reading the blog by AgFunder News , which noted that harvesting robotics market is on the rise and to reach US$5.5 bn. The reality is that despite the rising cost of labour amidst unpredictability in farm profitability, farm robotics is still immature. Another factor is that while many farming aspects have...
Quick Read Gender imbalance exists with women and girls most affected Technology, ICTs in particular, promise to leverage farming practices Examples of projects where ICTs have been used by women in agriculture In most developing country due to rural urban migration and other reasons, agriculture is depleted of the needed workforce. In essence, the result is that many smallholder farmers have more women and girls remaining on the farms providing bulk of the labour force. At the higher level of development, it has been acknowledged that gender inequality persists worldwide, and this normally...
Do you have an innovative project in ICT4D? Do you think that your project is supporting the SDGs with the ICT4SDGs? Do you want international recognition of your project and also want to share to others what you are working on? Then ITU invites you to submit your entries by the 14th of January 2018. The extension allows for time for interested projects to bid for this prestigious award. You can read the ITU Official Call for Submissions in all UN languages are available here [ AR ] - [ ZH ] - [ EN ] - [ FR ] - [ RU ] - [ ES ] Read the submission rules and guidelines here All nominated...
#HackAgainstHunger is hackathon challenge promoted by FAO and ITU ( and partners) based on end hunger and food security topics. Do you have an idea to ensure food security, decrease malnutrition or prevent famine? Join the #HacAgainstHunger! When? Sunday 18th and Monday19th of March 2018, Where? ITU Headquarters in Geneva Please note that two regional phases (Africa and Caribbean) will precede the global one, which will take place in Geneva on March 18th and 19th during the WSIS Forum 2018 75% of the world's poor live in rural areas and 2.5 billion people derive their livelihoods from...
CTA publishes a policy brief that seeks to concertize policy makers on the need of smallholder farmers to be included (in technological innovations) and to empower them to leverage information and communications technology (ICT) innovations for greater productivity and efficiency. In the western world, farmers can now use their smartphones, and other emerging technologies, to remotely monitor their equipment, crops and livestock and better control farming practices and productivity. However, the typical African smallholder farmer is still unable to effectively use these technologies due to a...
WSIS Prizes continues to serve as the unique opportunity for ICT4D, also including ICT4SDG, to be internationally recognized for efforts in using the ICT for making social impact. WISIS is inviting contributions to the WSIS Prizes contest in 2018 by submitting your ICT projects and join us in evidence-based policy making, advancing Sustainable Development Goals. ITU Official Call for Submissions in all UN languages are available here [ AR ] - [ ZH ] - [ EN ] - [ FR ] - [ RU ] - [ ES ] All Stakeholders are invited to Submit entries online by 10 January 2018 . As you are already aware, all...
Many smallholder farmers in many part of Africa produce fruits and vegetables alongside their stable food – such as cereals, tubers and roots. Yet farmers are losing more than 50% of their crops due to lack of cold storage. The Food and Agriculture Organization the United Nations estimates that one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption (approx. 1.3 billion tonnes) gets lost or wasted. Therefore, there is a need for post-harvest handling facilities for both horticultural produces and also for cereals. For ten years, Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu has been producing radio shows for...
We enjoyed working with you and sharing news related to ICTs for Agriculture in 2017. We wish you happy holidays. We invite you to review a selection of some of our 2017 activities e-Forum Discussions The Role of ICTs in Sustainable Crop Production Intensification (SCPI) of horticulture crop based system (mainly fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers) e-Forum on ICTs and Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition e-Forum discussion on the Agriculture Open Data Package - AgPack.info e-Agriculture Webinars e-Agriculture Newsletters e -Agriculture Learning activity on drones in agriculture Good and...
Microsoft India has collaborated with ICRISAT to develop Artificial Intelligence based system to help farmers in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya, Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana. The technologies are part of the Microsoft Cortana Intelligence Suite and include Cloud Machine Learning, Satellite Imagery and Advanced Analytics. The developed app sends sowing advisories to participating farmers on the optimal date to sow. Through their cell phones farmers receives these advices as text messages. Read more about this app here
Highlights: AI use growing in agriculture AI is applied in some aspects of the farming practices Some examples of AI are offered by Thembani Malapela (FAO) When l reflected on the future of agriculture, l could not avoid thinking about the power of technology to solve problems bedeviling this sector. Climate change, population growth and food security concerns have pushed for innovative technological solutions to farming. Artificial Intelligence is emerging as part of the solutions towards improved agricultural productivity. In this item, l will look at what AI is, how it is used in...
