The GSMA today announced a new Innovative Fund for Rural Connectivity seeking to expand digital inclusion in Ghana and Uganda. The Fund will provide grants up to £300,000 and is open to eligible companies who can deploy solutions in Uganda or Ghana and is implemented in partnership with MTN Uganda and Vodafone Ghana respectively. Projects eligible for funding should employ innovative ways to deploy mobile broadband networks in rural areas with partnerships with a mobile operator and projects should be commercially viable and scalable in similar environments. The Innovation Fund for Rural...
The growing world population means that food production will have to increase to meet the growing demand. ICTs are touted as one of the boosters and possible contributors to increased agricultural productivity. In a recent blog , it has been argued that the Internet of Things is one of such technologies to be watched. The Internet of Things in agriculture is construed as a “group of technologies that include soil sensors, cameras, weather stations and other technological gadgets that gather data about farming activities”. The data obtained is analysed by algorithms and other software and...
The Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart will request suppliers of leafy greens – lettuce, spinach and other greens to join its food-tracking Blockchain by the 31st of January 2019. In addition farmers, logistics firms and business partners have been mandated to join blockchain by 30 September 2019. This could be a turning point on the use of blockchain in the tracking of food and also in the food retail industry. This directives comes after 18 months of testing the blockchain system to trace berries, mangoes, chickens and other foods on the IBM Food Trust blockchain. Walmart joins other...
As CGIAR holds the Big Data in Agriculture Convention in Kenya this week, the question of data, big data and open data in agriculture is yet again rejuvenated. The link between farming and data has never been stronger than now. There are many efforts driving the data agenda in agriculture, which include FAO , GODAN , CGIAR , USAID programs , and many others. Data-driven agriculture But what is data-driven agriculture? And what does it mean for smallholder farmers? Perhaps the infographic by Grameen Foundation (for USAID Feed the Future) summarizes the issues ( click on image to download )...
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...
Xinhua News reports that FAO is going to use the new digital tool to fight the fall armyworm in South Sudan. The article further reports that FAO will distribute electronic tablets to 220 villagers to help monitor, track and share the information about the location and spread of the fall armyworm infestations. Related news on Fall Army worm FAO launches mobile application to support fight against Fall Armyworm in Africa FAO launches guide to tackle Fall Armyworm in Africa head-on Briefing Note on FAO Actions on Fall Armyworm in Africa We reproduce the full article for the e-Agriculture...
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 African Development Bank and Purdue University are organizing the Scale Up Conference on Agricultural Innovations from September 25-27, 2018, to address how to shift agricultural innovations from research institutions into the developing world, particularly Africa. Scaling up innovations can make an impact on the #ZeroHunger challenge. By 2050 the world needs to feed 35% more people than today as the world population is growing and also a growing need for food security, better nutrition, and improved livelihoods. This conference has lined up dozen of speakers who have implemented scale up...
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...