Perhaps the name sounds negative, but not until you dig deeper. The rate of technology change has affected many people, processes and sectors. With regards to agriculture, our colleagues published an article, ' digital disruption in agriculture ’. They premise that, the pace of digital disruption over the last two decades has been breathtaking, transforming every sector of the global economy, including agriculture. By using diverse technologies – smartphones, GPS, satellite imagery, big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things – farmers can optimize crop growth and farm...
On Monday 19 November 2018, FAO is organizing a workshop on “ The development of a national e-agriculture strategy for Armeni a” within the framework of the EU-funded FAO project “ ENPARD Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia ”. The workshop will provide the opportunity to understand how Armenia can develop its national e-agriculture strategy. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have long been recognized as key enablers for bridging the digital divide and achieving the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth,...
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Member States have approved at new resolution that consolidate ITU’s mandate on matters relating to digital financial inclusion , reports ITU . The except of the news can be read below “Two billion adults worldwide do not have a bank account, but among them, 1.6 billion have a mobile phone. Developing countries are capitalizing on the widespread use of mobile phones and information and communication technologies (ICTs) to bring all people within reach of financial services and out of poverty. Digital financial services show great potential to...
A one-size-fits-all approach to agricultural finance and insufficient resources make it difficult for smallholder farmers to become profitable, despite the pivotal role they play in agricultural production. Over the last four years, Grameen Foundation and Musoni Microfinance Kenya have built a...
FAO e-Agriculture team and CABI are inviting interested persons to attend this webinar to be presented on the 31st of October 2018 at 11:00 (CET) Rome Time [ Check your times ] To attend kindly register here to receive attendance information and also to get the details of the recording after the event. About the webinar The PestSmart e-Learning Course : Diagnostic eLearning course that guides learners through identifying symptoms and causes of both biotic and abiotic plant health problems, and introduces a methodology for field-based diagnosis. CABI trains extension workers on plant...
Collecting data in the field has always been a headache for researchers, students, aid projects, and international organizations alike. Thanks to technology, we can now collect data through using mobile technology and replace the traditional approaches. Despite the advances in technology, haphazardly collected data tends to be a headache to analyse. In order to support the use of mobile phones and other handheld devices, US Global Development Lab and their partners have published the “ Paper-to-Mobile Data Collection” manual. Paper-to-Mobile Data Collection: A manual This manual was designed...
Starting today, the 16th of October, the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation and its partners are starting a workshop on ‘Catalysing actionable knowledge to enhance next-generation ACP agribusiness through digitalisation’ This workshop comes after 8 years of CTA implementing various activities designed to improve and enhance agribusiness through the application of information and communication technologies and digitalization. This ‘experience capitalisation’ activity will allow experts to review, take stock and synthesise lessons learnt and further document good practices...
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 )...
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...
Land cover changes can impact many areas of life. These changes can affect deforestation, ecological communities, wildfire extent, and urban growth. This advanced series will focus on using satellite imagery to map changes in land cover. Attendees will learn change detection methods, including...
A one-size-fits-all approach to agricultural finance and insufficient resources make it difficult for smallholder farmers to become profitable, despite the pivotal role they play in agricultural production. Over the last four years, Grameen Foundation and Musoni Microfinance Kenya have built a...
Land cover changes can impact many areas of life. These changes can affect deforestation, ecological communities, wildfire extent, and urban growth. This advanced series will focus on using satellite imagery to map changes in land cover. Attendees will learn change detection methods, including...