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Issue paper

2019

E-agriculture in Action. Big data for agriculture

According to Forbes, we generate almost 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. The next generation of agriculture heavily depends on data. The ability to capture, sort, analyze and extract actionable intelligence from large data sets to reveal patterns (human, climate, market) and related trends is an important emerging field.  The increase in the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices would only add to this data deluge. The Economist rightly called data as the world’s most valuable resource, while some calling data the new oil. Agriculture would be one of the major users of IoTs. How can individuals, organizations and [...]

Report

2019

FAO Investment Centre Annual Review 2018

FAO’s Investment Centre provides a wide range of investment support services to developing and transition countries. This second annual review shines a light on the work of the Investment Centre and its partners –the international financing institutions - carried out in 2018 to increase the volume and quality of investments in food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development. During that year, the Centre supported investment-related policy studies and processes to increase policy dialogue and contributed to the design, technical assistance, supervision or evaluation of investment projects in 116 countries. It increasingly linked both its policy work with investment support to [...]

Brochure

2019

Background Notes on Sustainable, Productive and Resilient Agro-Food Systems: Value chains, human capital, and the 2030 Agenda

Agricultural production more than tripled between 1960 and 2015, owing in part to productivity-enhancing technologies and a significant expansion in the use of land, water, and other natural resources for agricultural purposes. Today, more than ever, agriculture faces multiple and complex challenges. It has to provide sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet boosting demand by a growing and progressively more prosperous population, and ensure food security for all.  Prepared to support the G20 Presidency of Japan and the G20 Agriculture Deputies, these three background notes provide an overview on the following interlinked issues: (i) the policy challenges for strengthening [...]

Tool

2019

Practical guidelines for organizing policy dialogues for strengthening agricultural innovation systems

These Practical guidelines document was prepared under the project Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS), a global partnership (Agrinatura, FAO and eight pilot countries) that aims to strengthen the capacity of countries and key stakeholders to innovate in complex agricultural systems, thereby achieving improved rural livelihoods. CDAIS uses a continuous learning cycle approach to support national agricultural innovation systems in eight countries in Africa, in Asia and Central America. CDAIS brings together key partners and actors to address commonly identified challenges and opportunities in specific value chains and in key organizations providing innovation support services. CDAIS also addresses the [...]

Briefs

2019

Providing timely, reliable and accessible information for decision-makers on the food security situation

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is an innovative multipartnerinitiative for improving food security and nutrition analysis, and decision-making. By using the IPC classification and analytical approach, governments, United Nations (UN) Agencies, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society and other relevant actors work together to determine the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity, and acute malnutrition situations in a country, according to internationally recognized scientific standards.  

Report

2019

Digital technologies in agriculture and rural areas

This report aims to identify the different scenarios where the process of digital transformation is taking place in agriculture. This identifies those aspects of basic conditions, such as those of infrastructure and networks, affordability, education and institutional support. In addition, enablers are identified, which are the factors that allow adopting and integrating changes in the production and decision-making processes. Finally identify through cases, existing literature and reports how substantive changes are taking place in the adoption of digital technologies in agriculture. Available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

Forums and community of practice

2019

FAO e-Agriculture online

E-Agriculture is a global community of practice that facilitates dialogue, information exchange and sharing of ideas related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Briefs

2019

Improving livelihoods and food security for farmers in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan wishes to promote organic farming, as demand for organic products is growing every year on both the domestic and export markets. The natural soil and climatic conditions are favourable for organic farming in the country, while the existence of scientific and educational institutions in the agrarian sector and experienced farmers in the regions may provide a suitable environment for promoting organic agriculture in the country. Despite the country’s significant agricultural potential, agricultural productivity and its profitability vary widely across the regions. Although the country’s agricultural sector contributes around 6 percent to GDP, the lack of modernization means that productivity [...]

Issue paper

2019

Investing in information and communication technologies to reach gender equality and empower rural women

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have made information available to more people than ever before. These advances have also substantially increased their capacity to connect with each other in a continuously expanding number of ways. Rural women are currently (and have always been) last in line in terms of ICT access and use, even though women stand more to gain than most from active participation and engagement with these resources.   Evidence suggests that the ICT sector is both urban- and male-centric, ranging from the design of  ICTs to the gender of sector employees and decision-makers. Representation in the media is [...]

Case study

2019

Disaster risk reduction at farm level. Multiple benefits, no regrets

This report presents the findings of a multi-year FAO study undertaken on over 900 farms in ten different countries that measured, using field data, benefits gained through the use of innovative farming practices designed to boost the resilience of farmers in the face of natural disasters and other shocks. Its findings show that the use of good disaster risk reduction practices offer significant economic gains at the household level, and also that – because they are usually low-cost and easily implemented – they hold significant potential for reducing disaster risks at the national and regional scales as well. These results [...]