Landscaping the Agritech Ecosystem for Smallholder Farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean.

 Promotional video for the report “Landscaping the Agritech Ecosystem for Smallholder Farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Based on the review of 131 digital agriculture tools, this report, prepared by GSMA and IDB Lab, provides a market mapping and landscape analysis of the most prominent cases of digital disruption. It highlights some of the major trends observed in five digital agriculture use cases, identifies opportunities for digital interventions, and concludes with recommendations for future engagement that could deliver long-term, sustainable economic and social benefits for smallholder farmers.

Shaping digital agriculture capacities - A D4Ag online dialogue - Zoom Kick-off session on Friday 19 Nov 2021 from 1400 - 1530 CET

Do you work with digital technologies, innovations or data to deliver and transform agriculture and food systems?

Join a global network of 1,200 people to help shape future investments in digital agriculture (#D4Ag) capacities

From 19 November to 10 December, the Digital Agri Hub’s online D4Ag dialogue aims to identify capacity gaps, opportunities, priority needs and best-bet learning solutions for people and organizations working with digital agriculture. Supported by the Dgroups Foundation, the online dialogue combines two virtual (Zoom) sessions with email based, facilitated discussions, in a rich and dynamic process.

Join us on Zoom for the dialogue kick-off session on 19 November 2021 from 1400 – 1530 CET:

• Learn about the dialogue and how to participate 
• Meet other D4Ag professionals
• See what capacity building initiatives already exist 
• Together, start to shape and deliver digital agriculture capacities for the future!

Register here >> https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rf-mhrTojHtLHKxHT3pdKq7jmOaJjUkB6

Developing a policy framework for adoption and management of drones for agriculture in Africa

This paper proposes a drone policy framework for developing drone regulations for Africa, expediting the individual countries’ developing drone regulations. This research was conducted following concerns raised by individuals and businesses whose imported drones were seized by customs or had to go through a cumbersome process for approval to use drones for lack of regulations. To derive the policy framework, we matched the provisions of 15 existing drone regulations from Africa to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Manual on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) using a decomposition modelling technique. The proposed framework is presented as a formal business process model and is evaluated in a multi-case study approach in two different case studies. 

The results indicate that two key aspects/elements are crucial in the development of a drone framework and thus are included in our framework: (i) stakeholders’ inclusion in the policy development and (ii) regulators liaising with security agencies like the police and immigration officials to implement and enforce developed regulations. 

Applying the proposed framework in describing existing regulations reveals that 40-85% of provisions in existing regulations conform to the provisions in ICAO’s RPAS manual.

Citation:

Matthew Ayamga, Bedir Tekinerdogan, Ayalew Kassahun & Giacomo Rambaldi (2021) Developing a policy framework for adoption and management of drones for agriculture in Africa, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 33:8, 970-987, DOI: 10.1080/09537325.2020.1858047

Interested in drone technology? Join the community www.uav4ag.org 

Sommet mondial sur la société de l'information (SMSI) - Prix 2020 : la phase de vote s'achève le 24 janvier 2020.

Sommet mondial sur la société de l'information (SMSI) - Prix 2020 : la phase de vote s'achève le 24 janvier 2020 https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/stocktaking/Prizes/2020/Vote

Le projet : « Transformer l'agriculture africaine - Les yeux dans le ciel pour des technologies intelligentes au sol » ou « Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground » en anglais a été nominé dans la catégorie AL C7. E-agriculture.

Au total, 20 projets ont été nominés dans cette catégorie. Les cinq premiers ayant reçu plus de votes seront sélectionnés pour une évaluation plus approfondie.

Pour voter, vous devez être inscrit sur la plate-forme d'inventaire du SMSI. Vous pouvez exprimer un vote par catégorie et voter pour une ou plusieurs catégories. Le site hébergeant la plateforme de vote n'est pas aussi simple qu'il devrait l'être et il est assez difficile de s'y retrouver.

POUR VOTER, SUIVEZ LES ETAPES SUIVANTES :

1. Inscrivez-vous
2. Connectez-vous en tant qu'utilisateur inscrit
3. Cliquez sur le lien suivant : https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/stocktaking/Prizes/2020/Vote?jts=P4W9PG&id=10&page=13#start qui vous mènera directement vers la catégorie AL C7. E-agriculture. 

Le projet "Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground" est répertorié dans cette catégorie.

Cliquez sur... more >> et lisez la description détaillée du projet et de ses réalisations.

Exprimez votre préférence et votez. Nous comptons sur votre bon jugement. 

World Summit on the Information Society - Prizes 2020: the voting phase comes to an end on January 24, 2020

World Summit on the Information Society - Prizes 2020: the voting phase ends on January 24, 2020. Vote Now!

The project: "Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground: Transforming Africa's Agriculture " has been nominated for voting under the category AL C7. E-agriculture.

A total of 20 projects have been nominated in this category. The first five most voted will be selected for further evaluation. In order to vote, you need to be registered on the WSIS Stocktaking Platform. You can express one vote per category and vote for one or more categories. The site hosting the voting platform is not as straight forward as it should be, and it is quite difficult to navigate. 

Follow these steps (recommended):

1. Register
2. Login as a registered user
3. Follow this link: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/stocktaking/Prizes/2020/Vote?jts=P4W9PG&id=10&page=13#start which will lead you straight to the category AL C7. E-agriculture.

The project "Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground" is listed under this category 

Click on  ... more>> and read the retailed description of the project and its achievements. 

Express your preference and vote. We rely on you good judgement.

The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report, 2018-2019 - available for download

“At CTA, we know and understand the power to digitalise African agriculture. But we also understand that the evidence that will attract targeted investments to further develop D4Ag on the continent is lacking.

We realised that it is time to chart the scale of the opportunity and make some projections that will help in guiding policy and investment decisions. It is why we have produced a report together with Dalberg Advisors and supported by a high-level Advisory Council bringing together the key stakeholders that have been engaged in the space. The report is the first attempt to consolidate evidence and provide proof of impacts and the knowledge that will allow evidence-based investments.

While, in the report, we find a young sector, it’s clear that the appetite for D4Ag is burgeoning. However, without the right policy focus and investment there is a danger that the development will be piecemeal, neither sustainable nor inclusive. To capitalise on this opportunity we need to ensure that development is coordinated, that best-practices are shared and a collaborative approach to rolling out and scaling-up digital innovation, primarily focused on increasing use by farmers, is adopted.

 This report is a valuable first step, we have seen an appetite to continually improve our understanding of the D4Ag landscape and chart the opportunity it offers for entrepreneurs, investors and governments. I hope our efforts will be valuable in guiding the opportunity and look forward to the collaborative push that I believe will bring D4Ag to life for the benefit of Africa’s smallholder farmers and food and nutrition security across the continent. And as long as we learn from lessons, do it right and manage risks and take into account data sovereignty, inclusivity, sustainability, we will all benefit.”  Michael Hailu, CTA Director"

This report realises that there is great appetite for D4Ag and that policy mechanism should be invested in to guide the implementation of digital solutions. The value of collaborative approach that is focusing on increasing use of technologies by farmers is encouraged.

Landmark Pan-African Policy Recommendation Singles out Drones as a Transformative Technology for Africa

On June 8, 2018, a full report on the technology entitled “Drones on the horizon: Transforming Africa’s Agriculture” has been launched by Prof Yaye Kène-Gassama Dia, from the University Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar, on behalf of the High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) and NEPAD during the Africa Innovation Summit which took place in Kigali, Rwanda. 

The African Union singled out Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) also known as drones, as a disruptive technology which could impact the development of agriculture on the African continent. On 26 January 2018, by issuing Decision  EX. CL/Dec. 986-1007 (XXXII), the AU Executive Council recommended that all Member States harness the opportunities offered by drones for agriculture.

"Precision agriculture-drone nexus is seen as enhancing the socio-economic well-being of Africa and is likely to support African states in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically SDGs 1 and 2 Prof Yaye Kène-Gassama Dia"stated.

The report, available in English and French, is a high-level recommendation by the AU to Member States to support and facilitate the deployment of drone technology in agriculture.

More on the launch of the report :