How digital apps and services are boosting rural youth employment
In this blog by FAO, several digitial innovations examples are mentioned that are stimulating youth back to agriculture. There are already new ways of working in agriculture that harnesses digital and technological innovations, rendering it more efficient and, not as a small byproduct, providing new opportunities and services for young entrepreneurs. The first innovation discussed is working with drones. See also this recent podcast on this subject: Drones, data, food security: How UAVs offer new perspectives on agriculture. Furthermore, several mobile apps are developed by FAO to assist farmers in their practices, such as the FAMEWS app and the Nuru app to monitor effects of the Fall Armyworm (a devastating pest destroying maize and other important crops across parts of the Americas, Africa and Asia). New ideas from youth and from organizations, universities and companies all over the world are helping to unlock the potential of food and agriculture for reducing poverty, to bridge the rural divide, to employ and empower youth and to give equal access to information, technology and markets. FAO is creating and promoting these innovative solutions to address the ever-dire challenges facing our future of food and agriculture. In the recent FAO regional conference on youth, FAO and its partners are engaging young people from different countries in Africa to find innovative solutions that address challenges in food and agriculture through Hackathons.