Digitalization for impact: FAO introduces enhanced online crop calendar
©FAO/Linda Perella
During a side event of the Tenth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture yesterday, FAO unveiled a newly revamped digital tool called the “Crop Calendar,” that will help farmers determine the best timing to plant and harvest their crops. The open-access online database contains information that will help reduce the risk of production losses and increase crop yields.
“Knowing when to sow and when to harvest can make all the difference between a bumper crop and a failed season,” said Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division, in his opening remarks that touched on the importance of plant production to food security and agrifood systems transformation. He explained that FAO is supporting the transition to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable crop production and protection through “optimization and minimization,” which essentially means producing more with less. “We must get good agronomics and plant protection right to realize the full potentials inherent in the genetic blueprint of the crops and varieties,” he said, outlining the three mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable crop production systems: genetic gains, good agronomics and plant protection.
FAO has built this digital tool to make information about what to grow, where and when available to a wider audience, explained Arshiya Noorani of the Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources Team of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division, noting that the site currently contains information for over 100 crops in over 50 countries.
©FAO/Linda Perella
©FAO/Linda Perella
Agrometeorology expert Sebastian Grey with the World Meteorological Organization, which collaborated with FAO in the development of the tool, emphasized the importance of integrating information from multiple sources to offer more complete guidance to farmers, who need to consider factors such as climate, water availability and local experience with specific crops in their decision-making.
Jordan is among ten countries that are currently using a “Digital Service Portfolio”, which sources its crop data from FAO’s Crop Calendar. It provides weather and crop calendar information for the nine agroecological zones in the country. Rawad Sweidan of Jordan’s National Agricultural Research Centre explained that the tool has information about 32 crops in addition to animal husbandry, the agrimarket and more.
In the Crop Calendar, data are organized into agroecological zones, said Karl Morteo of the FAO Digitalization and Informatics Division. “If you click on a crop itself, you’ll get characteristics for that zone,” he said in demonstrating the dynamic tool available, which is in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Dejan Jakovljevic, who heads the FAO Digitalization and Informatics Division, informed the audience that the newly enhanced Crop Calendar is part of larger efforts to provide digital tools to transform agrifood systems. The tool provides insights and knowledge to be delivered into farmers’ hands, which is a tangible support to improve food security. “We would like to more countries to join, to expand and continue this digital journey together,” he said.
The hour-long event was moderated by Bonnie Furman, also of the FAO Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources Team, and concluded with the panelists answering the audience’s questions.
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