The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) have published a new book on the application of Blockchain in the Agri-food industry. The publication comes after the spread of Blockchains application in a number of industries and sectors. Distributed ledger Technologies (DLTs) are poised to transform the global food industry and also the humanitarian work in food and agriculture. Some low hanging gains on the use of blockchain technology are efficiency gains along value chains, and improving trust, transparency and...
Did you know that you can blog on e-Agriculture? Why not share your opinions and experiences in the use of Information Communication and Technology issues in agriculture? The e-Agriculture blog has the following objectives ;- Raise awareness of Information Communication and Technology (ICTs) issues in agriculture see the e-Agriculture themes of topics already covered already in e-Agriculture; Collect news and stories from the e-Agriculture Community on various projects they are working on related to ICTs in Agriculture; Provide space for third party content by registered e-Agriculture members...
Image credit : FAO/ART Project In Rwanda, one main constraint limiting the development of the potato value chain is related to a lack of reliable information on the prices of potatoes and quantities available in the market which makes forecasting costs of processors difficult, a constraint which is outside the direct control of the firm. Furthermore, the impact of climate change is putting unprecedented stress and threats on the livelihoods of potato farmers in north-western districts of the country. Reducing climatic risks require robust and innovative tools that can help producers and...
The Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition initiative (GODAN), the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL) held an e-consultation on ethical, legal and policy aspects of open data affecting smallholder farmers. The forum took place on the e-Agriculture platform from 4th till 8th of June 2018.The purpose of the e-consultation was to solicit views from the community on issues affecting smallholder farmers in developing countries...
The Humanitarian UAV Network is inviting interested persons, entities and organizations within the International Humanitarian field to comment and contribute to the next version of the Humanitarian UAV/Drone Code of Conduct and Guidelines by the 1st of October 2018. Background to the call In May 2018, WeRobotics co-organized an Experts Meeting on Drones in Humanitarian Action . The Meeting amongst many other outcomes, revised the existing Humanitarian UAV/ Drone Code of Conduct considering developments in the use of drones in conflict zones and for cargo delivery. The sessions which were well...
FAO Investment Centre is hosting its ninth internal knowledge-sharing event, Investment Days 2018 on the 4th and 5th of July at FAO headquarters in Rome. The two-day event will focus on the following sub-themes: (i) Innovative finance in food and agriculture, and (ii) Digital agriculture. See the...
News Release as published on FAO Website 25 June 2018, Rome - The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and Pennsylvania State University joined forces to develop and launch an innovative, talking app - Nuru - to help African farmers recognize Fall Armyworm, a new and fast-spreading crop pest in sub-Saharan Africa, so that they can take immediate steps to destroy it and curb its spread. Fall Armyworm first appeared in Africa in 2016, in West Africa, and then rapidly spread across all countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, infecting millions of hectares of maize, and threatening...
The Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS) is a monitoring and education tool that feeds several platforms that are used to make decisions about Fall Armyworm (FAW). Data are inputted via an app for smartphones, which provide exact locations of the source of the information. Data can be collected on FAW prevalence in fields (infested crop plants) or from pheromone traps that attract adult moths. Data collection is done using FAO’s FAW Guidance Notes and is available in five languages. The app also provides basic background information on FAW and will soon incorporate an...
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has contributed its innovative initiatives with the broader 17 UN agencies on how it is using innovative technology and digital solutions to assure food security and end hunger in middle-and lower-income countries. This contribution was published by the UN Innovative Network (UNIN) in their Q2 Quarterly Update on Innovation . UNIN is an informal collaborative network of UN Agencies innovation teams, the teams seek to find new innovative approaches and technologies as well as challenges in developing innovative ideas. FAO’s...
Towards the end of 2017, the e-Agriculture Team at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) announced a call for Good and Promising Practices in Agriculture. We are happy to let you know some of the good/promising practices have been published and are available online via FAO publications . The good or promising practice are about the various use of ICTs for agriculture, livestock, fisheries or forestry or rural development in general. The following good and promising practices have been published, and some are still in...
FAO Investment Centre is hosting its ninth internal knowledge-sharing event, Investment Days 2018 on the 4th and 5th of July at FAO headquarters in Rome. The two-day event will focus on the following sub-themes: (i) Innovative finance in food and agriculture, and (ii) Digital agriculture. See the...
