by Tom Price, Independent Writer for ICT4D Conference Humans have been farming the African landscape for thousands of years, and not a great deal has changed over the many centuries. The slow rhythms of the agricultural seasons are what really drive this continent with more than 60 percent of the population working on the land. But change is afoot. Digital technology is introducing remarkable innovations to agriculture through accessible mechanization, improving farmers resilience to shocks like floods, and identifying land improvements. The mechanical power of the tractor revolutionized...
The organisers of Africa’s leading conference on technology assisted learning and training, eLearning Africa , have announced that, for the first time, the event will include a special programme of seminars, discussions and debates about learning and training for Africa’s farming and food sector...
Today is the EU Digital Day and the EU Member States signed three Declarations to pool efforts and resources for accelerating digital developments in key areas that are expected to bring tangible benefits to states economies and societies. Digital Day is a unique event intended to enable the EU and interested Member States to pool efforts and resources with a view to accelerating digital developments in key areas that can bring tangible benefits to our economies and our societies. #DigitalDay2019 The digital day "brings Member States and EU institutions together with partners from industry,...
To mark its tenth anniversary, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2019 will convene under the theme, ‘Information and Communication Technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’.WSIS is the world’ s largest annual gathering of the information and communications...
The Government of Japan and FAO have handed over to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement a project that is aimed at strengthening small farmers overcome bird flu and fall armyworm (FAW). Amongst other things the project provided the following tools - For HPAI, an active surveillance system consisting of two Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machines will be used for the rapid detection of influenza viruses. Whereas for FAW, 340 government extension officers will be provided with smartphones equipped with the FAW Monitoring and Early Warning...
There is a growing acceptance of blockchain use in food and agriculture. This comes as part of the growth of ICTs in the last decade and technology has promised to open many opportunities to overcome some of the challenges faced in agriculture. For example, technology can allow more inclusion, simplification of process within the agricultural systems, including on-farm and off-farm activities. In light of blockchains in agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with its partners have published three documents so far on blockchains. These publications are: Emerging...
ITU has just announced 90 Champions of the WSIS Prizes contest. From the announced 90, 18 projects will be selected to be Winners will be awarded for each of the 18 categories of the WSIS prizes. The submission phase opened on the 2nd of July 2018 to the 5th of December 2018 and 1,149 submissions were received (of which 1062 were found exceptional and were nominated for the WSIS Prizes 2019). Champion Projects under Action Line C7 E-agriculture The Action Line C7 (E-agriculture) is jointly facilitated by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International...
You might be wondering, What is E-KOKARI? E-KOKARI is an interactive voice responsive (IVR) platform developed in Niger and it allows farmers, breeders and buyers to access information, advice, warnings and market prices in the field of agriculture and livestock. E-KOKARI allows farming communities in Niger to access timely and accurate information they need on the farm. In Niger, like in many parts of Africa, the use of mobile phones have increased and while French is a common language – not every farmer prefers it. Hence, E-KOKARI was developed to help farmers to access needed information...
by Olaitan Ogunnote & Raimot Adewunmi - Undergraduate Research Assistants, ECV Ontario, SEDRD, University of Guelph. Read Part I As you enter the grocery store, you quickly glance through your shopping list. While examining, you wonder if the orange juice in the fridge is truly 100% orange...
Grameen Foundation is inviting interested individuals to join their twitter chat on Data, Technology and Women’s Economic Empowerment Wednesday, January 30, 2019 Twitter Chat: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET Facebook Live: 12-12:30 p.m. ET Check your local times here Digital data is driving global economic change. How can we ensure that it also helps women and their families escape poverty? Join Grameen Foundation , Cisco and Accenture for a Twitter chat on new uses of data and technology for women's economic empowerment. Topics will include: Key breakthroughs in using data and tech to improve women's...
The organisers of Africa’s leading conference on technology assisted learning and training, eLearning Africa , have announced that, for the first time, the event will include a special programme of seminars, discussions and debates about learning and training for Africa’s farming and food sector...0 comments
To mark its tenth anniversary, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2019 will convene under the theme, ‘Information and Communication Technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’.WSIS is the world’ s largest annual gathering of the information and communications...
by Olaitan Ogunnote & Raimot Adewunmi - Undergraduate Research Assistants, ECV Ontario, SEDRD, University of Guelph. Read Part I As you enter the grocery store, you quickly glance through your shopping list. While examining, you wonder if the orange juice in the fridge is truly 100% orange...0 comments