The Committee on Agriculture (COAG) is one of FAO’s Governing Bodies established in 1971 and it meets every two years. Its role is providing overall policy and regulatory guidance on issues relating to agriculture, livestock, food safety, nutrition, rural development and natural resource management. The 26th Session runs from 1-5 October 2018 and was opened by the FAO Director General . The details of the current agenda of COAG can be found here . This year’s COAG is running an exhibition that focuses on Innovation for sustainable food and agriculture . The aim of this exhibition is aptly...
Major new initiative aims to help low-income countries improve collection of agricultural data As published on FAO News 25 September 2018, New York - The lack of timely and high-quality agricultural data is handicapping efforts to implement the UN's sweeping Agenda for Sustainable Development, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said today. This is why FAO is joining forces with a wide group of partners — including the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)* — to weave existing agricultural data collection...
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and its GODAN Action partners in collaboration with Agricultural Data Interest Group (IGAD) are pleased to announce an Open Data in Agriculture Workshop to be held during International Data Week in Gaborone, Botswana on 6 November 2018. The workshop will be part of a two-day meeting of the Agricultural Data Interest Group (IGAD) at the RDA Pre-Plenary meeting. It will provide an overview of open data in agriculture and nutrition and help participants to make better use or share open data. The workshop will provide users with the...
CTA has launched a Call for Proposals to support the implementation of blockchain use cases addressing the agri-food sector in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific countries. Proposals must be submitted by Monday 12 November 2018, in English or French. A maximum of six grants will be awarded. The maximum amount per grant is Euro 60,000. The objective of this call is to support the implementation of blockchain uses cases addressing the agri-food sector in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific countries, in order to contribute to its transformation. Information for applicants A maximum of six grants...
The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture is where information becomes power: power to predict, prescribe, and produce more food, more sustainably. It aims to democratize decades of agricultural data empowering analysts, statisticians, programmers and more to mine information for trends and...
The UN Secretary General has announced a new strategy on technologies which is meant to define and guide the United Nations system in the use of technologies like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain and robotics for the attainment of the 2030 Agenda. The Strategy on New Technologies sets out 5 principles and 4 Commitments to build internal capacity, advocacy and dialogue, cooperative frameworks and norms, and member state support. The strategy has identified four strategic commitments for the UN and also the wider UN system. In quote, he stated that “These combine elements of...
The Government of Kenya, the Government of Ghana, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation organized the high-level side...
From Islamabad : In an effort to identify a roadmap for the national e-agriculture strategy in Pakistan, two day consultation workshop was organized in Islamabad. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) brought together representatives from the ministries of National Food Security and Research, Climate change, provincial departments, National Disaster Management Authority, telecommunication companies and private sector stakeholders engaged in agricultural service development and delivery in Pakistan for...
The UNIN ‘Innovation in the UN’ Update #03/2018 has been published and it highlights the innovation activities of the UNIN members . In the lead story, UNIN reports that it was tasked to lead the development of an innovation toolkit to promote more innovation in the UN. The toolkit, which is being developed in collaboration with Deloitte, will contain an innovation self-assessment tool and modules on Strategy, Architectures, Partnerships, Culture and Monitoring & Evaluation. The Food and Agriculture Organization joins other 17 agencies with contributions of its innovations, which include...
What do we mean by the farmers’ rights to data? Who owns data? Who is entitled to the value of the data? What is the role of privacy in the agricultural sector? There is no doubt that data-driven agriculture has increased agricultural production and productivity; reduced the risk and improved...
The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture is where information becomes power: power to predict, prescribe, and produce more food, more sustainably. It aims to democratize decades of agricultural data empowering analysts, statisticians, programmers and more to mine information for trends and...
The Government of Kenya, the Government of Ghana, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation organized the high-level side...
What do we mean by the farmers’ rights to data? Who owns data? Who is entitled to the value of the data? What is the role of privacy in the agricultural sector? There is no doubt that data-driven agriculture has increased agricultural production and productivity; reduced the risk and improved...