Digital Agriculture
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Digital technologies have taken root in agriculture, boosting efficiency and productivity and tackling bottlenecks in food safety, postharvest handling, market access, finance and supply chain management.
Yet, agriculture is still one of the least digitized sectors in the global economy.
Digital solutions such as mobile payments, e-advisory, applications to assess input quality and provide traceability, e-commerce platforms, fintechs and weather-based insurance can be game changers for farmers.
The FAO Investment Centre works with Members and partners to accelerate investments in digital agriculture. Activities include working on policy aspects, introducing digital technologies into investment projects, using digital solutions for improved land administration, and producing investment briefs and digital agriculture profiles on various countries.
At a glance
- With the World Bank, FAO is carrying out policy work in Malaysia on food systems digitization.
- With the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, FAO is promoting precision agriculture solutions in horticulture, traceability systems in dairy and a digital certification system for agriculture trade.
- Together with the UN Capital Development Fund, FAO has promoted digital solutions in transhumant livestock systems in the Sahel region.
- And with the African Development Bank, FAO has produced a digital agriculture investment toolkit.
- FAO published diverse studies with partners on digitization, including on funding the digital transformation of land administration; digital technologies in Ukraine’s grain sector (EBRD); digital agriculture in action in India (ICRISAT); and the use of digital technologies to strengthen agriculture human capital (IFPRI). Publications on Türkiye and Serbia are forthcoming.
The private sector is central to digitization efforts, as it provides most of the research and development for digital solutions on the ground. But for that to happen, public interventions need to bridge the digital divide, which still excludes many small farmers, and to make the business environment more conducive for providers.
Latest stories
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Digitalizing cows in Georgia
28/04/2023
In February, when the streets of Sachkhere, Georgia are covered with snow and temperatures reach -2 degrees Celsius outside, 39-year-old Shorena Jambazishvili...
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Investment Briefs
Irrigating from space: how remote sensing technology can make a difference
21/03/2023
It goes without saying that water is key to producing the food we eat. But water is becoming increasingly scarce, driven in part by population growth...
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Smartphones are boosting gender equality in Georgia and beyond
08/03/2023
Nestled in the vast plains of Georgia, in the shadows of the snow-covered Caucasus mountains, Malika Machalikashvili’s farm in Pankisi Gorge was once...
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Investment Briefs
The COVID revolution in food e-commerce
01/03/2023
A new brief from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the FAO Investment Centre looks at the unprecedented growth in food...
Latest publications
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Irrigating from space: Using remote sensing for agricultural water management
03/2023
This publication is part of the FAO-World Bank Cooperative Programme and aims to review and inform on the latest applications...
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Funding digital transformation of land administration
09/2022
Digital transformation involves changing land administration systems from paper to 100 percent digital. It leads to greater activity and better...
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Digital technologies in the grain sector of Ukraine
09/2022
Comprising 30 percent of agricultural output and with an area of 15 million hectares, the grain sector is a pillar...
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Digital agriculture in action - Selected case studies from India
06/2022
Agriculture is becoming more knowledge-intensive. Access to timely, accurate information tailored to specific locations and conditions is critical to helping...
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Smart farmers – Learning with digital technologies
12/2021
Strengthening the skills and capabilities of agricultural producers, especially smallholder producers, to successfully manage their agricultural enterprises requires sustained investment...