Digital technologies have been part of agriculture since well before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but the current crisis has given further impetus to finding new applications for technology in food production. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today carried out a webinar – focusing on Europe and Central Asia – that looked at the multiple challenges of digital agriculture, and at the innovation and change that can result from embracing digital technology. The recording of the event is now available on YouTube.

The webinar, which addressed linkages in terms of COVID-19 response and digitalization, presented an array of digital-technology solutions applied in agriculture, their inter-connectivity and potential benefits, and the factors hampering their implementation during the pandemic. Speakers identified how regional trends have changed during the pandemic, and shared their experience on helping advance digital rural transformation and building resilience when faced with a crisis.