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,...
Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an interactive online forest monitoring and alert system designed for users to access the information they need to better manage and conserve forest landscapes. The mission of the Global Forest Watch is to provide the most precise information about the status of forest landscapes worldwide. GFW works in collaboration with NASA , Google and the University of Maryland to collect data on forest change which is displayed on an interactive map. Watch this introductory video by the Global Forest Watch: GFW is free and enables users to work with a wide variety of tools,...
Today 17th of May 2017 marks the World Information Society Day, a day that was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly resolution, following the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. The main objective of the day is to raise awareness of societal changes brought about by the Internet and new technologies.It also aims to help reduce the digital divide.The theme for WTISD-17, "Big Data for Big Impact," focuses on the power of Big Data for development and aims to explore how to turn imperfect, complex, often unstructured data into actionable information in a development...
The text below is from the United Nations website The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. 17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. World Telecommunication Day World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May...
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...
The European Commission presented on Thursay, May 4th, "Digital4Development", a strategy to mainstream digital technologies into European Union development policy, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The EU lacks an appropriate framework for mainstreaming and ensuring an effective delivery of digital technologies and services. Digital technologies can be very useful in key areas for development, such as agriculture, job creation, access to micro-finance, education and health. The Digital4Development project is intended to be part of overall development...
The GSMA mAgri Programme forges partnerships between mobile operators, technology providers and agricultural organisations. Although it has enourmous potential, Mexico seems to have been left out by ICT for agriculture initiatives. This article presents seven reasons for which Mexican agriculture should invest in ICT related projects to lift farmers out of poverty and into the 21st century. 1. The needs of Mexican farmers are huge 3.9 million farmers out of 5.3 million in Mexico earn of less than USD 1,000 per year. 61 per cent of Mexican farmers live in poverty. The reasons for this...
The UNESCO Chair in ICT4D is convening a workshop on Friday the 16th of June at the 2017 WSIS Forum which will be held in Geneva. This workshop will coincide with the recent publication of a new book entitled Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Development This workshop is held under the premise that the global spread of ICTs has increased inequality, and that the poorest and the most marginalised have failed to sufficiently to benefit. The workshop objectives and purpose are aptly stated in the announcement:- The workshop will explore whether the continued focus on the...
The proliferation of mobile phones across the world has enabled financial institutions to take advantage and introduce services accessible through mobile handsets. A scoping study has explored the challenges of implementing mobile-finance in low-income communities and also evaluated secondary data from online discussion and webinars. The study was done by two researchers at the University of Machester and raises very interesting questions into the application of mobile finance for low income countries. The following questions are answered in the paper:- What are the potential benefits of m-...
Youth, Agripreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals Workshop Date 8 May, 2017. 09:00-16:00 Location Sida Headquarters, Valhallavägen 199, Stockholm, Sweden Description The aim of this workshop organized jointly by SIANI and SLU Global is to develop ideas and tools to engage the african...
Youth, Agripreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals Workshop Date 8 May, 2017. 09:00-16:00 Location Sida Headquarters, Valhallavägen 199, Stockholm, Sweden Description The aim of this workshop organized jointly by SIANI and SLU Global is to develop ideas and tools to engage the african...