The joint ITU-FAO session will will take place on 11 September 2019 at 11.00h. This session will be held within the framework of the ITU Regional Initiative for Europe on ICT-centric innovation ecosystems that aims at establishing a sustainable culture of innovation through concrete strategic actions using information and communication technology (ICT) as an enabler.The main objective of this session is to bring together high-level stakeholders such as Ministries and Regulators from ICT sector as well as Agriculture’ Ministries to share best practices and case studies, highlight gaps and...
Use of information and communication technology (ICT) can facilitate many business and commercial activities in India. Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) has been advocating use of ICT for various commercial and vocational activities in India. P4LO is also a stern supporter for strengthening of e-...
All roads this week lead to Accra, Ghana which hosts the African Green Revolution Forum 2019 under the theme, “ Grow digital: Leveraging digital transformation to drive sustainable food systems in Africa ” The Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) is a platform for global and African leaders to develop actionable plans that will move African agriculture forward. Initially established as an annual “African Green Revolution Conference” by Yara International ASA in Norway in 2006, the conference moved to the African continent in 2010 with the championing of the late Kofi Annan to take an African...
A recent paper reports on a study where three complementary ICT-based extension methods – interactive radio, mobile SMS messages and village-based video screenings where used to enhance farmer’s knowledge and management of Fall Armyworm (FAW) in western Uganda. The findings show how complementary ICT-based extension campaigns hold a great potential to improve farmers knowledge and management of invasive species such as FAW. Citation: Tambo JA, Aliamo C, Davis T, Mugambi I, Romney D, Onyango DO, et al. (2019) T he impact of ICT-enabled extension campaign on farmers’ knowledge and management of...
In June, CTA published The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report, 2018-2019 which explained the agricultural transformation in Africa. The executive summary of this report has been published. The summary provides a glance of the Digital Agriculture in Africa statistics, includes the market opportunities, the D4Ag Solutions and various models that work in Africa. D4Ag in Africa at a glance : CTA With the right policies, innovation and investment, Africa’s agriculture could be transformed into a powerhouse not only to feed a growing population but to create decent employment for millions...
The world is facing an imminent challenge – the world population is expected to grow from 7.7 billion to 10 billion by 2050 ; today (with a population of 7.7) more than 820 million people are hungry globally. Does this mean that the world needs to produce more food to feed the hungry? Evidence seems to suggest that food production should increase. However, many of the farmers in the global south are aged and very few youths are replacing them. Can technology help in ensuring increased agricultural productivity? In a recent blog , Jean –Philippe Courtois , President at Microsoft Global Sales...
Scaling up innovations and solutions in agriculture was discussed in the September 2018 conference, Innovations in Agriculture: Scaling Up to Reach Millions , organized by Purdue University, in partnership with the African Development Bank. The Scale Up Sourcebook is a collection of contributions at the said conference and also aims to capture methodologies for leveraging globally the technology and innovations designed to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods in the developing world. The publication distils the expertise, ground-breaking innovations, and examples of successful...
A recent paper has been published and examines the use of Artificial Intelligence in 'just-in-time' crop disease detection in banana. The paper reviews research towards the development of an AI-based banana disease and pest detection system using a deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN) to support banana farmers. Banana is a popular fruit grown all over the world and a staple food in many developing countries. In many of these areas, traditional pest and disease identification approached rely on agricultural extension specialists; however, application of technologies such as Artificial...
The AGRF is considered the world’s most important and impactful forum for African agriculture, pulling together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. First established in 2010, following a three-year series...
The 3rd session of the AP-IS Steering Committee is planned to review the latest research findings, current implementation of the Master Plan 2019-2022 by member countries, ESCAP and partner organizations and discuss emerging trends and technologies which affect the implementation and agree on...