By Günther Feiler , Capacity Development Officer, FAO Rome, and Thomas Muenzel , Investment Support Officer, FAO Bangkok ( The article was originally published by the ICTworks and we reproduce for our community. All rights acknowledged) Experience has shown that substantial public investments in agricultural production, transport and storage infrastructure, combined with private on-farm investment are essential for promoting pro-poor economic growth, bringing people out of poverty and ending food insecurity and malnutrition. The FAO State of Food and Agriculture Report in 2012 found that the...
There is a growing acceptance of blockchain use in food and agriculture. This comes as part of the growth of ICTs in the last decade and technology has promised to open many opportunities to overcome some of the challenges faced in agriculture. For example, technology can allow more inclusion, simplification of process within the agricultural systems, including on-farm and off-farm activities. In light of blockchains in agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with its partners have published three documents so far on blockchains. These publications are: Emerging...
EFITA or European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment is biennial conference that facilitates participants from over 25 countries focusing on knowledge sharing and thinking on the future of ICT technologies within the agri-food and bio-resource sectors. The 2019 edition focuses on Digitizing Agriculture and will have three major themes,
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTAs) project, ‘ Transforming Africa’s Agriculture: Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground ” was this week showcased at FAO headquarters in Rome, at the IFAD Governing Council Meeting. Besides the stand display, there was a presentation on the last day where drones for agriculture were presented. This project was nominated for the WSIS Prizes 2019, category AL C7 – E-agriculture , whose voting is underway at the time of writing. About the project CTA is assisting African start-ups in acquiring capacity to deliver Unmanned...
In sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers are vulnerable to risks associated with changing weather patterns. In Uganda, the SUM-Africa project provides satellite based drought Index Insurance to protect farmers. The SUM-Africa project is supported by the G4AW program of Netherlands Space Office (NSO) and recently a Dutch Company (EARS) signed a long term contract with Uganda Agro Insurance Consortium (AIC) to continue this service. What are agricultural index insurance? Agricultural index insurance products are linked to an index, such as temperature, rainfall, crop yield or...
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have recently published a title called, ‘ Blockchain for Agriculture, Opportunities and Challenges ’ as part of the E-Agriculture in Action series publications. This is part of the collaboration of working together of the two UN Agencies to work together to promote the use of sustainable information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agriculture. The focus of the publication is on blockchain technology in agriculture. The aim of the book is to demystify the technology,...
You might be wondering, What is E-KOKARI? E-KOKARI is an interactive voice responsive (IVR) platform developed in Niger and it allows farmers, breeders and buyers to access information, advice, warnings and market prices in the field of agriculture and livestock. E-KOKARI allows farming communities in Niger to access timely and accurate information they need on the farm. In Niger, like in many parts of Africa, the use of mobile phones have increased and while French is a common language – not every farmer prefers it. Hence, E-KOKARI was developed to help farmers to access needed information...
Grameen Foundation is inviting interested individuals to join their twitter chat on Data, Technology and Women’s Economic Empowerment Wednesday, January 30, 2019 Twitter Chat: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET Facebook Live: 12-12:30 p.m. ET Check your local times here Digital data is driving global economic change. How can we ensure that it also helps women and their families escape poverty? Join Grameen Foundation , Cisco and Accenture for a Twitter chat on new uses of data and technology for women's economic empowerment. Topics will include: Key breakthroughs in using data and tech to improve women's...
To culminate the "experience capitalisation" activity, the final series of experience capitalisation workshop focuses on delivering proven climate-smart agriculture solutions through market-led delivery mechanisms and ICT services that build the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change.
The CTA led project, ‘ Transforming Africa’s Agriculture: Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the ground ’ has been nominated for voting under the WSIS Prizes 2019, category AL C7 – E-agriculture. This projects seeks to create employment opportunities for young graduates and the youth in rural areas, and aptly it states, “CTA’s transforming Africa’s agriculture project aims to establish business-oriented and youth-led UAS service providers in countries where enabling UAV regulations are already in place”. This project, CTA’s project will run from 2017 to 2019 will support the UAS service sector...
To culminate the "experience capitalisation" activity, the final series of experience capitalisation workshop focuses on delivering proven climate-smart agriculture solutions through market-led delivery mechanisms and ICT services that build the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change.