The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) was created by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) , a leading repository of information on the impact of disasters, in 1988. The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) is a free database containing worldwide data on the occurrence and impact of over 20,000 natural and technological disasters from 1900 to the present day. The main objective of the database is to help by giving data instruments for humanitarian action at national and international levels. The initiative aims to be a basis for vulnerability assessment and to...
SoilMapp is an app for iPad that lets users find out soil information such as how much water the soil holds, its clay content and acidity, among other attributes related to agricultural productivity and land management. The app enables users to view maps, photographs, satellite images, tables and graphs of data about nearby soils and learn about the soil’s physical and chemical characteristics (acidity, soil carbon, available water storage, salinity and erodibility). View this SoilMapp introductory video: Credits: CSIRO SoilMapp is designed for Australian farmers, consultants, planners,...
Abalobi, which is Xhosa name for fishermen, is as a mobile application for the small-scale fishermen to let them produce their own knowledge on fishing and build resilient communities in the face of climate change. There are currently 30,000 artisanal fishers along South Africa's coastline making their living from the sea and living on a thin line between commercial and subsistence fishing. The innovation of Abalobi is the fact that small-scale fishermen can record what they caught, when, where, using what method and how much they sold the fish for. All that information is stored in the app...
Monday 5 th of June – 15h CEST (1 hour) – Webinar on land and water data collection using low cost smartphones in Somalia The Somalia Water and Land Information Management project is one of the few UN development programmes to have information management as its primary mission, using technologies...
Monday 5 th of June – 15h CEST (1 hour) – Webinar on land and water data collection using low cost smartphones in Somalia The Somalia Water and Land Information Management project (SWALIM http://www.faoswalim.org ) is one of the few UN development programmes to have information management as its primary mission, using technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and remote sensing mapping and data collection with mobile devices and modern web applications. Managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), SWALIM has been able to successfully introduce...
The Yield is an Internet of Things (IoT) Australian product company that aims to use technology to improve yields in agriculture and aquaculture. The Yield combines wireless sensor networks and localised data to inform farmers and growers on the best decisions to make regarding their yelds. The Yield uses Sensing+, a microclimate sensing system for agriculture which measures data from different points around the farm and provides hyper local predictions based on the farm's growing conditions by using data analytics and artificial intelligence. Watch The Yield's presentation video: Credits:...
In a recent article on Harvard Business Review, Ndubuisi Ekekwe explores how digital technology is poised at providing a solution to increase farm productivity in Africa. In this article he reviews the food challenges affecting Africa such as weather changes, rural-urban migration that deprives farming communities of young people and deforestation amongst many challenges. While African governments have employed many policy instruments to improve farm productivity, yields are still marginally improving. The article notes that African entrepreneurs are interested in how farmers work and how...
The first beta release of the FAO Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data (WaPOR) portal is available as of 14 April 2017. The FAO portal monitors and reports on agriculture water productivity over Africa and the Near East. The portal provides open access to the water productivity database and allows for direct data queries, time series analyses, area statistics and data download of key variables associated to water and land productivity. The portal provides information on variables such as water productivity, land productivity, above ground biomass production,...
The Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) was created by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) as a response to the generalized food crisis of the early 1970s. Over the years, GIEWS has established itself as one of the world’s leading source of information on global food security. The GIEWS website provides access to food security related information at global, regional and national levels in the form of reports, country analysis and web-based tools dor data analysis. A subscribtion option has also been created for users to get the latest...
Literacy Bridge was founded in 2007 to improve livelihoods through comprehensive programs that provide access to locally relevant knowledge. Its ‘Talking Book’ is a simple and low-cost audio-based mobile device that allows people with minimal literacy skills in rural areas, without electricity or internet access, to get access and share knowledge on agriculture and health. The Talking Book can speak multiple languages and can play content on different topics based on the knowledge of local experts. It also allow recording onto it, so that users can create and document their own knowledge...
Monday 5 th of June – 15h CEST (1 hour) – Webinar on land and water data collection using low cost smartphones in Somalia The Somalia Water and Land Information Management project is one of the few UN development programmes to have information management as its primary mission, using technologies...