ICT4Ag (ICT Update) 79


Book Description

ICT Update is a bimonthly printed and on line magazine (http://ictupdate.cta.int) and an accompanying email newsletter published by CTA. This issue focuses on data revolution for agriculture.




Why Invest in ICTs for agriculture?


Book Description

With the ability to reach many farmers with timely and accessible content, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for agriculture (ICT4Ag) has the potential to transform farming and food production, worldwide. ICT4Ag supports new methods in the monitoring and management of soils, plants and livestock (precision agriculture), access to online markets, and improved communication between value chain stakeholders, among others. The services provided are vital in connecting farmers with the information they need to improve their agricultural productivity and reduce poverty. Through case studies and examples of ICT4Ag initiatives from across Asia, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, the first chapter looks at how ICT4Ag actually works to drive economic development across developing economies.




An ICT agripreneurship guide


Book Description

This Handbook provides a step-by-step roadmap designed to equip aspiring ICT entrepreneurs, with the information and knowledge they need to start an ICT-based business in the agricultural sector, outlining key opportunities and challenges that will be encountered along the way. Using real-life examples, it provides strategies and pathways for averting common mistakes faced by early-stage entrepreneurs. Topics covered include agricultural value chains and their stakeholders, ICT business challenges, effective business plans and models for designing, funding and scaling ventures.




ICT in Agriculture (Updated Edition)


Book Description

Information and communication technology (ICT) has always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. Today, ICT represents a tremendous opportunity for rural populations to improve productivity, to enhance food and nutrition security, to access markets, and to find employment opportunities in a revitalized sector. ICT has unleashed incredible potential to improve agriculture, and it has found a foothold even in poor smallholder farms. ICT in Agriculture, Updated Edition is the revised version of the popular ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook, first launched in 2011 and designed to support practitioners, decision makers, and development partners who work at the intersection of ICT and agriculture. Our hope is that this updated Sourcebook will be a practical guide to understanding current trends, implementing appropriate interventions, and evaluating the impact of ICT interventions in agricultural programs.




The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report 2018–2019


Book Description

An inclusive, digitally-enabled agricultural transformation could help achieve meaningful livelihood improvements for Africa’s smallholder farmers and pastoralists. It could drive greater engagement in agriculture from women and youth and create employment opportunities along the value chain. At CTA we staked a claim on this power of digitalisation to more systematically transform agriculture early on. Digitalisation, focusing on not individual ICTs but the application of these technologies to entire value chains, is a theme that cuts across all of our work. In youth entrepreneurship, we are fostering a new breed of young ICT ‘agripreneurs’. In climate-smart agriculture multiple projects provide information that can help towards building resilience for smallholder farmers. And in women empowerment we are supporting digital platforms to drive greater inclusion for women entrepreneurs in agricultural value chains.







E-agriculture in action: Drones for agriculture


Book Description

The FAO-ITU E-agriculture strategy guide (available at http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5564e.pdf) is actively being used to assist countries in the successful identification, development and implementation of sustainable ICT solutions for agriculture.The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, and connected analytics has great potential to support and address some of the most pressing problems faced by agriculture in terms of access to actionable real-time quality data. Goldman Sachs predicts that the agriculture sector will be the second largest user of drones in the world in the next five years. Sensor networks based on the Internet of things (IoT) are increasingly being used in the agriculture sector to meet the challenge of harvesting meaningful and actionable information from the big data generated by these systems. This publication is the second in the series titled E-agriculture in action (2016), launched by FAO and ITU, and builds on the previous FAO publications that highlight the use of ICT for agriculture such as Mobile technologies for agriculture and rural development (2012), Information and communication technologies for agriculture and rural development (2013) and Success stories on information and communication technologies for agriculture and rural development (2015). The ultimate aim is to promote successful, scalable, sustainable and replicable ICT for agriculture (ICT4Ag) solutions.




The Innovation Revolution in Agriculture


Book Description

This open access book is an important reframing of the role of innovation in agriculture. Dr. Campos and his distinguished coauthors address the need for agriculture to feed a growing global population with a reduced environmental footprint while adapting to and mitigating the effects of changing climate. The authors expand the customary discussion of innovation in terms of supply driven R&D to focus on the returns to investors and most importantly, the value to end-users. This is brought to life by exploring effective business models and many cases from agricultural systems across the globe. The focus on converting the results of innovation in R&D into adoption by farmers and other end-users is its greatest contribution. Many lessons from the book can be applied to private and public sectors across an array of agricultural systems. This book will be of enormous value to agri-business professionals, NGO leaders, agricultural and development researchers and those funding innovation and agriculture across the private and public sectors. Tony Cavalieri, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Hugo Campos, Ph.D., MBA, has 20+ years of international corporate and development experience. His distinguished coauthors represent a rich collection of successful innovation practice in industry, consultancy, international development and academy, in both developed and developing countries.”




Farming Systems Research into the 21st Century: The New Dynamic


Book Description

Farming Systems Research has three core characteristics: it builds on systems thinking, it depends on the close collaboration between social and biophysical sciences, and it relies on participation to build co-learning processes. Farming Systems Research posits that to contribute towards sustainable rural development, both interdisciplinary collaborations and local actor engagement are needed. Together, they allow for changes in understanding and changes in practices. This book gives an overview of the insights generated in 20 years of Farming Systems Research. It retraces the emergence and development of Farming Systems Research in Europe, summarises the state-of-the-art for key areas, and provides an outlook on new explorations, especially those tackling the dynamic nature of farming systems and their interaction with the natural environment and the context of action.




Food Technology Disruptions


Book Description

Food Technology Disruptions covers the latest disruptions in the food industry, such as the Internet of Things, digital technologies, modern applications like 3D printing, bacterial sensors in food packaging, electronic noses for food authentication, and artificial intelligence. With additional discussions on innovative distribution and delivery of food and consumer acceptance of food disruptions, this book is an essential resource for food scientists, technologists, engineers, agriculturalists, chemists, product developers, researchers, academics and professionals working in the food industry. While innovations play an important role in food production, disruptive technologies are a revolutionary type of innovation that can displace an established technology and shake up the industry...or create a completely new industry. Currently, digital technologies and smart applications lead innovations in the food sector in order to optimize the food supply chain and to develop and deliver tailor-made food products to consumers with new eating habits. - Covers digital technologies in agriculture, food production and food processing, modern eating habits, personalized nutrition, and relevant innovative food products - Brings alternative protein sources, novel functional foods and artificial meat - Discusses the Internet of Things, digital technologies and modern applications like 3D printing, smart packaging and smart food distribution