
What is ICTforAg?
ICTforAg is using information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture development interventions. ICTforAg projects aim to increase food security by helping smallholder farmers use modern agritech farming methods and access markets. These solutions encompass agricultural value chains and include adjacent technologies like digital financial services, big data, and geographic information systems.
ICTforAg solutions in the development sector help countries achieve the Sustainable Development goals. Solutions often focus on agriculture extension agent services for farmers to learn about agriculture technologies and innovation. ICTs can amplify the efforts of agricultural extension agents who work directly with farmers across the entire value chain from planing what crops to grow, to sourcing inputs for crop cultivation, to selling it in the market.
Why is ICTforAg Important?
Smallholder farmers have limited resources and often live in underserved and remote areas. They have limited knowledge, services, and technologies available to them, and typically need support to adopt modern farming methodologies. Agricultural extension services are usually inadequate , with less than one extension agent per 1000 farmers .
Climate change is now impacting more farmers, particularly the most vulnerable, so there is greater need for reaching farmers with information and services that can improve their food security. ICTforAg can play a crucial role in supporting farmers to access new inputs, credit, and markets with personalized and customized services.
Examples of ICTforAg in Food Security Programs
The potential to achieve high impact at the farm-level requires appropriate technology and adoption methodologies. Please find below an ever-increasing list of successful ICTforAg solutions.
Published on: Jan 10 2023 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on 9 World Bank Digital Agriculture Programs Improving Food Security
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Published on: Dec 20 2022 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on World Bank Funding for Digital Agriculture Startup Companies
Digital agriculture is important to the World Bank because it can help improve food security by making the food system more efficient, sustainable and equitable....
Published on: Mar 09 2022 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on USAID Resilience and Food Security Digital Strategy Action Plan
The application of digital technology within resilience and food security sectors has both sectorally unique elements, as well as some commonalities. Digital technologies...
Join industry leaders and practitioners from around the globe at ICTforAg 2022 for two days of thought-provoking discussions on March 9-10, 2022 as we delve into...
Agriculture is by far the most important economic activity in Africa, employing about two-thirds of the continent’s working population. Yet agricultural productivity...
Digital agriculture solutions for weather-based insurance, pest diagnostic, agronomic advice, and crop monitoring can revolutionize yields and income for smallholder...
Smallholder farmers suffer from fundamental challenges to improving their own food security and their communities nutritional resilience. They face low agriculture...
COVID-19 has disrupted the agriculture value chain at every level. The measures taken to contain the spread of the virus have stressed entire food systems. Today,...
Published on: Nov 03 2020 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on Please RSVP Now to Engage with Global Agriculture Technology Leaders
The novel coronavirus pandemic has an immense impact on healthcare across the African continent. COVID-19 is also impacting economic livelihoods. The World Bank...
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank estimated that 47 million children younger than 5 years were moderately...