The UNESCO Chair in ICT4D has published a page that provides a catalog of funding for ICT4D research. This page comes in handy as funding information is haphazardly littered on newsletters, funders’ websites, social media and many other diverse sources. Once can constantly check their page and also contact them for additions. For our e-Agriculture community, we reproduce the list below (we are however not responsible for the up datedness of the information) UK funding agencies EPSRC (physical sciences) – current funding calls Cross-ICT priorities 2017-20 ICT strategy ICT theme ESRC (social...
Blockchain or distributed ledger technologies are relatively new technologies and have been adopted in a number of sectors. The recent ICT update explains what blockchains are and their applications in agriculture. The most appealing aspect of this technology is its focus on trust, transparency of transactions, immutability and incorruptibility of transactions, low operating and transactional costs and distributed governance in a large network. In light of these reasons, one of the article cites the following applications in agriculture Value Chain Blockchains can allow consumers to track and...
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...
BBC news reports that digital technology from apps to blockchain technology are opening new ways for farmers and smallholders to new ways of doing business. The featured article focuses on one farmer, Take Muhammed Adams who is a cocoa farmer attested that technology run by commodities giant Olam has helped him improve his productivity and pest management. The case of Olam is previewed as an avenue for digital initiatives used in agriculture, and they have done so for the past 18 months. Olam apps allow farm products to be tracked from the farm to the markets and allows farmers to check cocoa...
Innovation lab gives youth the chance to unlock and accelerate social and economic potential of traditional agriculture sector This article was initially published by FAO China, and is reproduced for the e-Agriculture CoP 11/07/2018 . New initiatives can empower the traditional agricultural sector and enhance rural livelihoods, according to FAO China at the FAO Ag-Lab innovation incubation event, launched in Shijia Hutong Museum today in Beijing. Co-hosted by Tsinghua University, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and China Internet Information Centre (CIIC), the incubation event has...
An audio-visual podcast by MicroSave provides an insight into how Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and drone technology have a potential to improve access to finance for smallholder farmers in East Africa. MicroSave is an international financial inclusion consulting firm operating in eleven offices across Asia and Africa. While strengthening the capacity of local institutions, the firm designs and implement market-led solutions for financial services and most importantly designs a variety of financial inclusion models. In the above referred podcast entitled, “ Drones...
Research findings by the youth at Mastercard Foundation Rome – Africa is in the height of a crisis and an opportunity. Africa’s population stands at 1,2 billion people and over 60% are below the age of 25. Yet most African youths are not employed, and according to the World Bank by 2035, 350 million new jobs will be needed . Africa’s population is growing faster than jobs are created. There is a potential for agriculture to create employment, however, African youths in Sub-Saharan Africa do not realize agriculture as a profitable opportunity for livelihood. There is a growing notion that the...
On the 25th of April 2018 the e-Agriculture team organized a webinar in partnership with Grameen Foundation on the FarmerLink in the Philippines: Digital Innovation for Agriculture . The webinar presented the strategy used to develop and deploy FarmerLink, and review results of an 18-month pilot implementation.You can watch the presentation here Grameen Foundation, in collaboration with the Philippine Coconut Authority, Franklin Baker, and People’s Bank of Caraga launched FarmerLink to increase farming households’ incomes and resilience by improving their productivity, providing them access...
In developing countries, there is little smallholder farmers can do to protect themselves from shock. When faced with unexpected volatility, they often turn to negative coping mechanisms like selling assets, reducing meals, or pulling children out of school. To address this, Digital Development for...
In January, l attended the webinar on Blockchain for Development, which was hosted by NETHOPE solutions. With the cryptocurrency buzz and the bitcoin bullish behavior l was curious to learn about this new technology and how it is applied in development and also how it can be assimilated within food and agriculture. The webinar title was “ Blockchain for Development: Moving from Hype to Reality ”. This was the fifth of the ongoing ICT4D webinar series by the NetHope community What is blockchain? It is a shared ledger that records the history of transactions -It cannot be altered without...
In developing countries, there is little smallholder farmers can do to protect themselves from shock. When faced with unexpected volatility, they often turn to negative coping mechanisms like selling assets, reducing meals, or pulling children out of school. To address this, Digital Development for...