CGIAR launched the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture, a new initiative that aims to convene researchers to use big data in order to help improve food security, resilience in the face climate change as well as encouraging rural development. Big data are immense stocks of information collected in computers worldwide, and it can be a potential resource for planning and decision-making. Applied to agriculture and rural development it can help give robust responses to some of the most important challenges of our time: climate change, food insecurity and environmental degradation. For this...
AMAN (Avian-Diseases Monitoring and Awareness Network) mobile app and web platform has been developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a communication tool for early warning, reporting, monitoring and awareness services for small poultry farmers in Egypt (a country with 2.5 million small poultry farms). Through the AMAN app, a rapid, real time, efficient and highly open and confidential communication channel is guaranteed, allowing for an effective and immediate action during the occurrence of a poultry disease outbreak from detection, reporting and response...
Millions of underemployed skilled farmers and millions of hectares of underused arable land exhist all over the world, especially in developing countries. At the same time, the demand for high-quality organic food increases daily. According to FAO , our food production will have to increase dramatically to feed a growing population that will reach 9.7 billion in 2050. iGrow is a marketplace that helps underemployed farmers, under-utilized land, and investors to produce high-quality organic food and sustainable incomes through cloud-based agricultural management software. The online platform...
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently held on the 27th of June a seminar entitled, " Towards Inclusive Rural Communication Services: Contributing to Poverty Reduction and the SDGs ". This seminar is timely in that FAO recently aligned its strategic objectives with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is an interest in reaching out to the rural communities, and in particular smallholder and family farmers face social, economic and environmental challenges and access to information can make a huge difference in allevieting poverty. In 2014, FAO...
Four new videos on four different areas (mango seedlings, making soumbala from soya beans, sheep & goats, and pumpkins) have been posted on the platform www.accessagriculture.org . They are currently available in English and French for the one on soya while in English, French, and Bangla for the other three. They are freely downloadable, also in 3gp format for mobile phone viewing. Four new videos Grafting mango seedlings : The benefit of grafting is that from grafted trees we can get fruits within two to four years. Making condiment from soya beans : In West Africa, women prepare a...
FAO, along with several partners, is involved in the implementation of ICT initiatives in Africa The majority of family farmers in developing countries live rural areas and in most cases don't have access to technology and digital agricultural services. Through the use of ICTs, farmers have more access to information on markets, weather and nutrition. The digital service project is part of FAO's Digital Strategy and is aimed at people in the field, local governments, community leaders and extension workers. The project aims to develop four apps designed to help farmers have better...
Harnessing Research and Innovation for FOOD 2030: A Science Policy Dialogue Date 16 October 2017 Location Brussels, EU Commission, CHARLEMAGNE building Description This one day conference will serve to disseminate successful European Research and Innovation (R&I) initiatives and contribute to...
The first week of our e-forum discussion on ICTs and Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition generated many insightful contributions. The discussion explored the crossroads between ICTs and issues around Open Data in agriculture and nutrition. The question for week 1 was: What role can ICTs play in using Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition for farmers, especially small holder family farmers, rural women and youth engaged in agricultural livelihoods? Summary of contributions Participants looked carefully at the different steps that are necessary to collect quality data, make them accessible...
Esoko is a communication tool created with a view to building connection between businesses, projects, NGOs, governments and smallholder farmers. Esoko started as a price information service but the team soon realized that farmers needed much more than market information and added weather alerts, crop advice, and linking buyers with sellers. Various research finds such services can improve incomes for farmers by roughly 10%. Watch this introductory video on Esoko: Credits: Esoko Over the years, Esoko developed two products: Tulaa and Insyt . Tulaa is a mobile money solution that allows...
Plantix is a plant diagnostic app developed by PEAT, a software company that uses geodata and crowdsourcing to provide ecological informations to farmers, researchers and stakeholders. Plant diseases and pests cause the loss of up to 30 % of the annual harvests. To tackle this issue Plantix uses artificial intelligence and image recognition to help farmers to protect their plants. Plantix supports farmers to recognize plant diseases, pests and nutrient diffidences just by sending a picture. Plantix uses image recognition and deep learning to detect more than 120 plant pests & diseases on...
Harnessing Research and Innovation for FOOD 2030: A Science Policy Dialogue Date 16 October 2017 Location Brussels, EU Commission, CHARLEMAGNE building Description This one day conference will serve to disseminate successful European Research and Innovation (R&I) initiatives and contribute to...