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...
SciDevNet opines that the use of ICT tools is helping smallholders access farm inputs and increase yields. The article reviews a project in Uganda that is using ICTs to empower smallholder farmers. The situation : A major problem that has been confronting the two Ugandan smallholders – who epitomise the struggles of many in Sub-Saharan Africa – is the lack of adequate information on best farming practices such as when and how to plant that could lead to increased productively, more income from their produce and better livelihoods. But a project in Uganda that uses information and...
The International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), has launched the Call for Applications for the first edition of its Arab Women Leaders in Agriculture, Awla Fellowship . The Call is open to Arab women researchers from the MENA region, with a strong and demonstrable interest in national, international and global agricultural challenges. The theme of the first Awla Fellowship being " The role of women in agriculture prosperity ". Candidates must be able to present professional and academic credentials in the field of agriculture. Watch the video about the call below The Call for...
The 3rd African Youth Agripreneur Forum (AYAF) Conference and AgriPitch Competition will be held in Cape town, South Africa from 24th – 28th June 2019 under the theme: “ Climate Smart Agriculture: Business and Employment Opportunities for Africa’s Youth ”. This year the AYAF will be held in...
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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in conjunction with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) are organizing a parallel session during the WSIS 2019. The session is entitled ‘ Communities of Practices and Digital Integrated Platforms ’ and will be held on the 8th of April 2019 in Geneva, Swirtzerland with a possibility of online participation Details of the Session 16:30 - 18:15 on Monday the 8th of April 2019 Room K2, ITU Montbrillant Remote participate online click here About the session: Communities of Practices and Digital Integrated Platforms By 2050,...
The Technologies and Practices for Small Agricultural Producers (TECA) is an online platform that gathers successful agricultural technologies and practices to facilitate knowledge exchange and help family farmers in the field. Recently TECA has launched the first moderated discussion on the topic of Agricultural Mechanization and is done between FAO AGPM and the Young Professionals in Agriculture and Rural Development (YPARD). The online discussion will be held from the 3rd to the 15th of April 2019 and is addressing the question, “ Can mechanization drive youth into agriculture in Sub-...
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...