Innovations in agro-food sectors
Technological innovations
Image: via Flickr (by: CIMMYT)
Technological innovations in agriculture are usually associated with product or process innovation. There are key technological innovations in agriculture that do not belong to a particular value chain, but do have a significant impact on food and nutrition security. Within this topic, these key innovations are presented. This can range from the use of Information Technology (IT), drones and geodata in agriculture for the improvement of yields to lessons learned on the implementation of agricultural technology.
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July 20th, 2020
Published by United Nations Systems Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN), July 15th, 2020
This publication examines the complexity of the digital world for improved nutrition from a range of food-system perspectives. Potential benefits and adverse impacts of innovative digital technologies in helping to achieve sustainable healthy diets and progressively realize the right to adequate food. »
June 11th, 2020
Published by European Journal of Training and Development Studies, May 1st, 2020
This study was carried out to ascertain the effectiveness of agricultural technologies training among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan African communities. The study recommends a policy agenda of governments that will favor improvement of agricultural extension and training for rural development to promote agricultural productivity, improving standard of living of smallholder farmers and national food security. »
May 4th, 2020
Published by Irrigation and Drainage journal, April 13th, 2020
This special issue journal aims to compile a series of insights related to innovation in irrigated agriculture. It became apparent that efforts to advance innovation for smallholder irrigated farming must remain a priority. Further emphasis should also be given to learning how to innovate the enabling environment itself. The key challenge will be to involve policy and decision makers. »
March 31st, 2020
Published by American Journal of Agricultural Economics, March 26th, 2020
This study evaluates the effectiveness of an ICT‐mediated approach to deliver agricultural information in a field experiment conducted among small‐scale maize farmers in eastern Uganda. Households that were shown a short video on how to become better maize farmers were performing significantly better on a knowledge test, more likely to apply recommended practices, and more likely to use fertilizer... »
March 16th, 2020
A retrospective analysis of responsible innovation for low-technology innovation in the Global South
Published by Journal of Responsible Innovation, April 11th, 2019
This article states that the role of low-technology innovation in addressing global challenges is undervalued. Responsible innovation (RI) has the potential to direct low-technology innovation towards global challenges in the Global South, yet this possibility remains largely unexplored. »
March 2nd, 2020
Published by CEPS, December 3rd, 2019
This report looks at the many ways in which digital solutions can be implemented on the ground to help the agrifood chain transform itself to achieve more sustainability. The diffusion of digital technologies in the agrifood chain promises to increase yields, reduce waste, and trigger changes in consumption patterns. »
February 24th, 2020
Published by Springer, October 11th, 2019
This article reviewed emerging applications of technologies like the Internet of Things, distributed ledger technologies and Artificial Intelligence at various phases of the agri-food chain, focusing in particular on smart and precision farming, value chain integrity, personalized nutrition and the reduction and prevention of food waste. »
February 5th, 2020
Published by Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, December 1st, 2019
This article states that globalization of food value chains has increased the demand for greater transparency over where food is produced, how, by whom and with what effect on society and the environment. A range of new digital technologies are available to facilitate transparency, with the promise of leading the global food system to an era of ‘hyper-transparency’. Its impact on smallholder farmer inclusion, however, remains questionable... »
January 20th, 2020
Published by American Journal of Agricultural Economics, July 23rd, 2018
This article states that despite the growing attention to technology adoption in the economics literature, knowledge gaps remain regarding why some valuable technologies are rapidly adopted, while others are not. This paper contributes to our understanding of agricultural technology adoption by showing that a focus on yield gains may, in some contexts, be misguided. »
December 5th, 2019
Published by IFPRI, Malabo Montpellier Panel , November 26th, 2019
This seminar explored how African countries can develop a “digitalization ecosystem” to help foster growth and competitiveness in the continent’s value chains. Also discussed are the institutional and policy innovations that have already been implemented by African governments as well as efforts by the private sector and ag-tech startups to increase the development and use of digital tools and services in agriculture. »
September 23rd, 2019
Published by Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, June 1st, 2018
This study provides an overview on the patterns and dynamics of mechanization in African agriculture from 2005 to 2014 along the entire value chain. A strong positive correlation between agricultural machinery growth and agricultural output growth was found, and vice versa. »
August 13th, 2019
Published by CTA, June 20th, 2019
This report explores the gains digitalisation for agriculture (D4Ag) has made in Africa toward reaching its potential. D4Ag can support and accelerate agricultural transformation across the continent, sustainably and inclusively. A large number of players comprise this young sector, developing viable businesses with attractive financial models. To further mainstream D4Ag, human capital should be developed at every level of the D4Ag ecosystem. »
July 1st, 2019
Published by Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Journal, July 1st, 2019
This article explores the feasibility of an automated advisory service that collects household data from farmers, for example through the keypads of conventional mobile phones, and uses this data to prioritize agricultural advisory messages accordingly. »
June 14th, 2019
Published by CTA, May 1st, 2019
This briefing provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges in adopting the blockchain technology in agriculture and the agrifood industry across several sectors and looks at best practices and successful applications of the blockchain technology. There is still a long way to go in terms of building the human and infrastructural capacities to harness the full potential of blockchain technology in the food system, but the industry has already begun to embrace the possibilities and invest in developing agricultural solutions using the technology. »
May 20th, 2019
Published by FAO and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), February 1st, 2019
This publication aims to demystify the technology, provide some thoughts on the opportunities and challenges in implementing blockchain-based systems as well as document some case studies on the use of blockchain for agriculture. In the agriculture domain, self-executing smart contracts together with automated payments would be the game changer. An applications of the blockchain technology that is already in practice for agriculture is FARMS: financial and agricultural risk management for smallholders, that offers an easy entry to formal financial risk management while increasing farmers financial literacy. »
May 7th, 2019
Published by Climatic Change Journal, April 16th, 2019
This paper presents a scientific and integrated approach to identify areas of high agriculture vulnerability to climate change and availability of ICT services for dissemination of climate-smart agriculture information in the vulnerable areas. This simple methodology uses available data, is easy to apply, can be useful to prioritize locations for climate-smart interventions, mode of CSA information dissemination using ICT services, and increase coverage of agro-ICT services. »
April 22nd, 2019
Published by Centre for Development Research, University of Bonn (ZEF) and PARI, April 1st, 2019
This paper examines the state, drivers and, consequently, the impacts of agricutural mechanization in eleven countries in Africa. Significant drivers of agricultural mechanization include the size of the household and gender of the household head. Agricultural mechanization, significantly increases the amount of cropland cultivated (extensification) and is also accompanied by input intensification especially in countries where land expansion is limited. The findings point to the importance of developing favorable arrangements that would avail mechanization to small and medium scale farmers. »
April 3rd, 2019
Published by Thomson Reuters Foundation, March 20th, 2019
This blog describes a study that demonstrated how rice and wheat can be grown using 40 percent less water through an innovative combination of existing irrigation and cropping techniques. Rice and wheat grown using a sub-surface drip fertigation system, combined with conservation agriculture approaches used at least 40 percent less water than flood irrigation for the same amount of yields, and is still cost-effective for farmers. »
March 4th, 2019
Published by IFPRI, December 3rd, 2018
This discussion paper evaluates the effectiveness of an information and communication technology (ICT) mediated approach to deliver agricultural information in a field experiment conducted among small-scale maize farmers in eastern Uganda. Results showed that video is effective in delivering information. However, the incremental effects of IVR and SMS technologies were found to be limited. »
February 28th, 2019
Published by CCAFS-CGIAR, February 15th, 2019
This working paper describes the newly developed tool 'Intelligent agricultural Systems Advisory Tool' (ISAT) that generates and disseminates data drive location specific advisories that assist farmers in anticipating and responding to emerging conditions through the season. The messaging system worked well in picking appropriate location specific message and delivering to the mobiles of the registered farmers. This study has demonstrated the opportunities available to harness the untapped power of digital technologies to provide actionable advisories timely to smallholder farmers using appropriate data analytics and information dissemination systems. »
February 20th, 2019
Published by Malabo Montpellier Panel, July 18th, 2018
This report summarizes findings of a systematic analysis of what countries at the forefront of progress in mechanization have done right. Targeted efforts and interventions are needed to promote mechanization in each segment of the value chain and at scale. This leverages the potential of agriculture to drive growth and employment, particularly in rural economies. »
January 14th, 2019
Published by Plant Biotechnology Reports, December 3rd, 2018
This review summarizes the current techniques used for site-directed genome editing in plants, focusing on the CRISPR/Cas system, and discuss their current and future applications for crop biology. The use of these technologies in crop biology has opened up a new era of genome editing-mediated crop breeding. »
January 2nd, 2019
Published by African Union, NEPAD,
This report provides a contextualized review of drones as a vital precision agriculture-enabling technology and its range of relevant uses for providing detailed and on-demand data in order to enhance decision-making by farmers and hence facilitate much needed support. The report considers drone technology for precision agriculture as a potential game-changer for the African continent. »
November 15th, 2018
Published by American Journal of Agricultural Economics, July 23rd, 2018
This paper contributes to the understanding of agricultural technology adoption by showing that a focus on yield gains may, in some contexts, be misguided. Results suggest that economic measures of returns may be more relevant than increases in yields in explaining technology adoption decisions. »
October 31st, 2018
Published by FAO, October 5th, 2018
This report presents priority elements for national strategies for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa. Long-term commitment by key stakeholders in policy, strategy formulation, implementation and financing is critical to its success. »
September 28th, 2018
Published by CTA, September 4th, 2018
This ICT Update magazine focuses on the potential of blockchain for agriculture. The blockchain technology has the potential to provide answers to a number of issues in agriculture. It is often a background addition to existing processes in the value chain and lends itself to recording transactions. »
August 28th, 2018
Published by Agriterra, July 24th, 2018
This magazine examines the opportunities of blockchain in agriculture for smallholder farmers. Blockchains are increasingly helpful to involve small-scale farmers in agricultural value chains. However, scaling up solutions are hindered by costs and the access to connectivity and digital literacy skills is limited... »
August 18th, 2018
Published by GFAR, GODAN, CTA, May 1st, 2018
This paper discusses the huge opportunities and the main challenges of data-driven agriculture for smallholder farmers. The two main challenges for smallholders are to gain access to relevant data and to make sure that data sharing does not weaken their positions. »
August 7th, 2018
Published by Elsevier, January 1st, 2018
This book integrates basic and advanced concepts of agricultural biotechnology with future development prospects. Using biotechnology with sustainable agriculture effectively contributes to gains in agricultural productivity, enhanced food security, and reduced poverty. »
July 25th, 2018
Published by Frontier in Plant Sciences, May 8th, 2018
This review examines the use of CRISPR/Cas9 in improvement of tropical crops, how it can be applied to improve crops and product quality, and address challenges pertaining to tropical crops. Many success stories on application of CRISPR/Cas9 in genome editing of tropical crops have not been reported yet. »
July 5th, 2018
Published by Business Fights Poverty, June 18th, 2018
This blog is on precision agriculture, in which micro-level data on e.g. stress, moisture and the presence of pests, is gathered by drones or satellites and used to enhance decision making on the farm. Results of a pilot study demonstrated the potential real-world impact of the the precision farming model. »
June 25th, 2018
Published by African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, June 1st, 2018
This review article is on factors that influence the adoption of new technologies in agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has not benefited sufficiently from the great revolutions in the agricultural world that have made it possible to increase productivity. »
May 10th, 2018
Published by SSRN, December 1st, 2017
This research explores applications of blockchain across the agricultural sector, beyond the typical finance use cases. Traceability across the global food supply chain ensures food safety and is thus far the most adopted application of blockchain for agriculture. »
April 5th, 2018
Published by GFAR, March 26th, 2018
This webinar series on farmers' access to data is a follow-up of a face-to-face course. The first webinar is called 'Data-driven agriculture overview', the second 'Key data for farmers', and the third 'Accelerating market adoptation and use of data by smallholders'. »
March 16th, 2018
Published by Sight and Life, December 19th, 2017
This magazine navigates various approaches in which technology and entrepreneurship can improve the nutrition landscape around the world. »
March 12th, 2018
Published by Emerging Topics in Life Sciences, November 10th, 2017
The present study reviews agricultural applications related to the use of CRISPR systems in plants from 52 peer-reviewed articles published since 2014. The application of CRISPR/Cas systems is mainly achieved directly in crops. The most important group of target applications relates to yield traits. »
February 12th, 2018
Published by IFPRI, April 3rd, 2017
This paper describes a choice experiment framed around the hypothetical subsidized purchase of a drip irrigation system in Pakistan. This study identified a clear increase in the valuation of the drip system by farmers after a few years of drip experience. »
January 23rd, 2018
Published by journal Aquacultural Engineering, July 8th, 2017
This article uses a cost-benefit analysis to assess the financial feasibility of an investment in a small-scale aquaponics system in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. Using this case study, in addition to refereed papers and grey literature, generic recommendations for up- and out-scaling of aquaponics are presented. »
December 21st, 2017
Published by CTA, December 1st, 2017
This policy brief discusses policy actions needed to empower smallholder farmers to leverage information and communications technology (ICT) innovations for greater productivity and efficiency. The data revolution is helping us make better decisions in all areas of our lives, and farmers are no exception. However, the smallholder farmer is being left behind as more data applications are developed for commercial farming. »
December 19th, 2017
Published by World Bank Group, June 20th, 2017
This webinar series highlights the innovation, business models, and demonstration of results on the ground for applying Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture. IoT - networks of objects that communicate with other objects through Internet - holds potential to transform today's agriculture by enabling more precise resources management through low-cost sensors and generating large amount of data for effective decision-making. »
November 21st, 2017
From farm to phone to table: A case study series explores the impact of digital tools on agriculture
Published by NextBillion, USAID, September 13th, 2017
This blog discusses a case study series, which highlights different approaches to digital tool adoption and how these tools impact organizational culture, operations and programming. A key focus of the series is on understanding the collective impact of digital tools while trying to assess the status quo without them. »
October 16th, 2017
Published by Global Food Security journal, Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, April 5th, 2017
This article introduces the novel agricultural practice of vertical farming /urban agriculture. This practice can help deliver safe and nutritious food for a growing world population, in environmentally and socially sustainable ways. »
September 27th, 2017
Published by Journal of Rural Studies, September 14th, 2017
This article analyzes the effect of farmer-led innovations on rural household welfare, measured by income, consumption expenditure, and food security. It is well recognized that agricultural innovations could emerge from many sources, including rural farmers. »
September 11th, 2017
Published by CTA, March 1st, 2017
This technical brief summarizes the lessons learned from seven ICT4Ag projects, offering key recommendations for future projects. The brief highlights the importance of understanding users' needs by interacting with potential clients before designing an app and then pilot-testing it to fine tune the services provided. »
August 14th, 2017
Published by The East African, August 1st, 2017
This news item discusses several new, technological innovation by Feed the Future that help farmers in East Africa. From technological innovations, like iProcure Ltd, smallholder farmers are able to get quality inputs for better productivity. »
August 2nd, 2017
Published by The guardian, June 4th, 2017
This news item discusses the potential of precision agriculture to increase the yields of smallholder farmers. Precision agriculture is closely associated with technology, like GPS tractors, and its application to large-scale farms in developed countries. But there's a growing body of research now to support the idea that small-scale farmers can benefit from precision agriculture. »
July 25th, 2017
Published by Environments Journal, July 18th, 2017
This article reviews blockchain-based concepts associated with ICT-based technology. Moreover, it proposes a model ICT e-agriculture system with a blockchain infrastructure. ICT e-agricultural with a blockchain infrastructure is the next step in the evolution of ICT e-agriculture. »
June 21st, 2017
Published by Food Security Portal, June 8th, 2017
This blog discusses a book chapter by IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan. He suggests that more innovative, better focused, and more cost-effective measures are needed to more effectively address hunger. These innovations must be driven by developing countries themselves. »
May 18th, 2017
Published by Agriculture & Food Security Journal, April 10th, 2017
This article assesses the usefulness, constraints, and factors likely to influence farmers’ decisions to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. The rapid growth of mobile phones in Ghana has opened up the possibility of delivering timely and useful weather and market information to farmers at costs lower than traditional agricultural extension services. »
May 2nd, 2017
Published by AgriProFocus, ICCO, KIT, F&S Ethiopia, EKN, April 18th, 2017
This publication introduces the Food Security and Rural Entrepreneurship (FSRE) Innovation Fund and explains how it contributes to rural innovation in Ethiopia. The fund supports ideas that have the potential to become scalable innovations that improve food security and strengthen rural entrepreneurship. »
April 18th, 2017
Published by CTA & GODAN, March 1st, 2017
This issue of ICT Update portrays how GODAN and other stakeholders are creating a global open data movement in agriculture and nutrition from the perspectives of its users by showcasing some of the best practices and the most common challenges in this field. There is a lot potential, but lack of reliable and contextualised data is currently working against smallholder farmers. »
April 3rd, 2017
Published by PNAS Journal, February 28th, 2017
This article demonstrates the potential to track smallholder maize yield variation in western Kenya, using a combination of 1-m imagery and intensive field sampling on thousands of fields over 2 years. The emergence of satellite sensors that can routinely observe millions of individual smallholder farms raises possibilities for monitoring and understanding agricultural productivity in many regions of the world. »
March 22nd, 2017
Published by IFPRI, January 1st, 2017
This conference paper examines the impact of the Wheat Initiative technology package promoted by the research and extension systems in Ethiopia on wheat yield. The results suggest that the full-package farmers had around 14% higher yields. Implementation of the Wheat Initiative was successful in terms of making certified seed and fertilizer accessible and increasing uptake, though only 61 percent of the intervention group adopted row planting and few farmers received marketing assistance. »
March 7th, 2017
Published by Remote Sensing Journal, February 1st, 2017
This article in the Remote Sensing Journal highlights new opportunities for monitoring agriculture. Assessment and monitoring of rice agriculture over large areas has been limited by cloud cover, optical sensor spatial and temporal resolutions, and lack of systematic or open access radar. The use of dense time series of open access Sentinel-1 C-band data at moderate spatial resolution offers innovative opportunities for assessment and monitoring of agriculture. »
February 23rd, 2017
Published by NpM, February 22nd, 2017
This study 'Geodata and ICT Solutions for Inclusive Finance and Food Security', commissioned by NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance, presents an overview of the possibilities and challenges of using geo-data and ICTs to improve agricultural production and access to finance for smallholder farmers. The publication is based on an analysis of 250 projects. »
February 15th, 2017
Published by IIED, January 1st, 2017
This paper by IIED presents the reflections of more than 160 Chinese agronomists who have spent time implementing Chinese agricultural technologies in Africa. Chinese actors are increasingly engaging in African agriculture. This research, conducted by the newly constituted research division of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Centre (FECC) of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, can be seen as a first step to gain insight into their experiences, in order to allow a more productive dialogue with a range of stakeholders in China-Africa agriculture engagement. »
January 30th, 2017
Published by International Industrial Biotechnology Network, December 1st, 2016
This book makes the “business case” for the role of biotechnology innovations for sustainable development in emerging and developing economies. It seeks to support the factual debate on biosciences and technology for developing and emerging economies. »
January 9th, 2017
Published by IIED, December 1st, 2016
This working paper by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) highlights opportunities and limitations for understanding agricultural drivers of deforestation through remote sensing. In this working paper, 14 of the most commonly used land cover data products are identified, with summarised spatial data, temporal and thematic properties, and estimates of forest and cropland area are compared. The limitations to land cover data that result from their divergent predictions are described and the implications for using this data to assess the agricultural drivers of deforestation in Africa are discussed. »
December 30th, 2016
Published by The Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology, November 8th, 2016
This article in the Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology highlights an important challenge that is threatening agriculture in Africa: the difficulty in collecting timely data on disease spread and effectiveness of on-farm control methods. This study served as a case study for assessing the viability of a participatory GIS (Geographic Information System) to enable a plant diagnostics network with fieldworkers. »
December 29th, 2016
Published by FAO, December 1st, 2016
This report by FAO targets agricultural water extension agents and technical experts, providing them with clear indications on how to improve water harvesting capacity for agricultural production as well as how to select feasible and suited water harvesting techniques for different geographical areas. The assessment outlined in this report forms part of the ‘Strengthening Agricultural Water Efficiency and Productivity on the African and Global Level’ project. »
November 14th, 2016
Published by CTA, October 7th, 2016
This magazine focuses on youth e-agriculture entrepreneurship. Young innovators in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific region, have recognized the need for creative solutions to raise agricultural productivity and the huge prospective market for their ICT-enabled services in agriculture. The issue includes articles with many examples and challenges of scaling-up initiatives and ensuring inclusive initiatives and on how to set up healthy, supportive eco-sytems for ICT start-ups in agriculture. It also offers practical advise on how young e-agriculture entrepreneurs can fund their initiatives and on how to develop a business strategy. »
October 17th, 2016
Published by FAO, WHO, September 1st, 2016
Recent advances in Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) technology have the potential to play a significant role in the area of food safety. WGS provides rapid identification and characterization of microorganisms, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a level of precision not previously possible. WGS provides rapid identification and characterization of microorganisms, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a level of precision not previously possible. »
September 19th, 2016
Published by Mckinsey, August 1st, 2016
This article by Mckinsey shows in what way the advanced analytics of big data opens vast untapped potential for farmers, investors, and emerging economies to reduce the cost of goods sold. By taking advantage of big data and advanced analytics at every link in the value chain from field to fork, food companies can harness digital’s enormous potential for sustainable value creation. »
July 28th, 2016
Published by Takepart, August 5th, 2015
This blog on Takepart describes an interesting technological innovation serving smallholder farmers in Nigeria. For resource-poor farmers, labor shortages often leads to under-cultivation, poor harvests and lost income. Targeted farm mechanization has proven to be an effective solution to these shortages. Despite this, small farmers throughout Africa lack access to tractors to improve farm productivity. The company "Hello Tractor" has designed an innovative, low-cost “Smart Tractor” specifically for small farmers unique needs. »
June 1st, 2016
Published by World Development Journal, May 1st, 2016
This paper in the World Development Journal, studies the role of Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre (ATDC) in Africa. The ATDC has been considered as an alternative model to pursue sustainability of Chinese foreign aid to African countries. This paper attempts to examine the ATDC scheme, particularly focus on the knowledge construction at macro level of design and the knowledge encounter at micro level of daily operation based on the case studies in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. »
May 17th, 2016
Published by CTA, April 18th, 2016
This issue elaborates on the potential of drone technology for agriculture. Drone technology could help farmers around the world monitor their crops, fend off pests, improve land tenure, and more. But to realize its full potential, regulatory regimes are necessary, while keeping citizens’ safety and privacy rights secure. »
April 28th, 2016
Published by IFAD, April 1st, 2016
This toolkit from IFAD provides practical papers on how labour-saving technologies and practices can promote inclusive development through reducing the domestic workload and freeing up time to perform productive tasks, but also to participate in decision-making processes and development opportunities. Labour-saving technologies can also make rural areas more attractive places for younger people. »
March 30th, 2016
Published by Outlook on Agriculture, March 1st, 2016
In this article the authors argue a re-conceptualization of the concept of adoption of technology is needed. The notion of adoption is central to efforts to measure technological change in African agriculture, and plays an important role in the evaluation of return on investment in agricultural research and technology development. However, the adoption concept, as it is commonly used in both the literature and development research practice, is seriously flawed and leads to inaccurate and misleading conclusions. »
February 28th, 2016
Published by GSMA, mAgri, February 1st, 2016
This paper explores new cases for weather monitoring and forecasting through mobile phones to enhance climate resilience. The authors advocate for increasing focus and investment from mobile network operators (MNOs), value added service (VAS) providers and donors into enabling technologies that can provide more localized and accurate service. In the developing world, the availability of localized, granular weather forecasts can benefit smallholder farmers who depend on rain for their agricultural activities and food security. »
November 17th, 2015
Published by GSMA, November 1st, 2015
This toolkit is a collection of instructions, tools and stories to help develop and scale mobile agriculture products by applying a user-centered design approach. The toolkit is a collection of instructions, tools and stories to help develop and scale mobile agriculture products by applying a user-centered design approach. It provides guides for different stages in a product development cycle elaborating on the tools and displaying stories from the field. »
October 15th, 2015
Published by Asian Development Bank, FAO, September 1st, 2015
This report of an expert meeting that gathered over fifty experts and focused on best practices and methodological issues related to crop monitoring and food security. Estimates and forecasts of crop area and yield are of critical importance to policy makers for the planning of agricultural production and monitoring of food supply. The possible links between poverty and crop yields, which depend upon a variety of factors such as cultivation practices, availability of irrigation, access to resources to buy agricultural inputs for adoption of new technology, cannot be fully understood without reliable estimates of crop area and yields. »
September 7th, 2015
Published by Desalination, June 1st, 2015
The article in Desalination explains the Bubble-Greenhouse: A holistic sustainable approach to small-scale water desalination in remote regions. The Bubble-Greenhouse idea develops an existing seawater greenhouse concept, which uses the evaporation and condensation of salt water to produce fresh water for irrigation and to create a cool, humid environment inside a greenhouse, meaning crops need less water... »
August 6th, 2015
Published by Agricultural Economics Journal, March 16th, 2015
In this article in the Agricultural Economics Journal, the authors argue that policy makers should focus on differences across countries when trying to combat low productivity and formulating global strategies and national policies for agricultural development. They showed how different components of an agricultural innovation system interact, to determine levels of technical inefficiency in developing-country agriculture. »
July 16th, 2015
Published by FAO, May 26th, 2015
This report by the FAO, provides a comprehensive overview on the topic of ICTs in agriculture and rural development, not only covering achievements but also bringing together a large number of practical examples that have proven their effectiveness. »
July 15th, 2015
Published by Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition, May 1st, 2015
This discussion paper elaborates on the role of open data in solving practical problems in agriculture and nutrition sectors. The authors state that alongside the challenges the world faces with regard to food security, there are also great opportunities due to the emerging global data infrastructure. The paper highlights three ways open data can contribute to increase food security. »
June 17th, 2015
Published by FAO, April 7th, 2015
This book by FAO reviews the use of geothermal energy in agriculture and agro-industry around the world. It shows that geothermal resources have the potential to provide long-term, secure energy for the agriculture and food industry in both developed and developing countries. »
May 18th, 2015
Published by Sciencedirect, March 2nd, 2015
This article in Global Food Security focusses on improved decision-support for agricultural droughts that threaten the livelihoods of people living in vulnerable regions. The authors claim that new strategic partnerships are required to link scientific findings to actual user requirements of governments and aid organizations and to turn data streams into useful information for decision-support. Furthermore, they list several... »
May 14th, 2015
Published by LIGTT, January 1st, 2015
The main purpose of the 50 Breakthroughs study by LIGTT is to identify where game-changing technologies for sustainable development are most required. The study's main objectives are to: 1) foster a thought-provoking conversation about the role of technology in solving the world's most pressing problems, 2) provide contextual background for technologists; and 3) provide decision-makers a guide to asking the hard--but important—questions. »
April 8th, 2015
Published by Elsevier Agricultural Systems, January 1st, 2015
This paper published in the Agricultural Systems journal introduces Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS), a diagnostic tool that can guide the analysis of complex agricultural problems and innovation capacity of the agricultural system in which the complex agricultural problem is embedded. The tool focuses on the integrated analysis of different dimensions of problems, interactions across different levels and the constraints and interests of different stakeholder groups. »
April 7th, 2015
Unleashing science, technology and innovation for food and nutrition security: Developing a road map
Published by CTA, October 20th, 2014
The 2014 CTA international forum on “Unleashing Science, Technology and Innovation for Food and Nutrition Security: Developing a Road Map” brought together leading ACP and EU scholars, senior scientists/researchers/academicians, policy-makers, development practitioners, innovators, farmers and private sector representatives to deliberate on these interlinked issues which have national and global significance. The Forum covered four strategic... »
March 31st, 2015
Published by The Guardian, July 8th, 2014
In this article by The Guardian, six innovations in farmer technology as are highlighted relating to the increased agricultural productivity of the last half century. These include: 1) dairy hubs (see example); 2) fertiliser deep placement (FDP); 3) mobile apps, such as VetAfrica or Farming Instructor; 4) high-roofed greenhouses (see example); 5) new feeding systems... »
March 31st, 2015
Published by SNV, October 27th, 2014
SNV Kenya and the Dutch company Land Life Company joined in a public-private partnership to improve the water efficiency and survival rates of young trees in dry-land Kenya. For avocado trees as well as mango trees, a Land Life Box is provided, a donut-hole centred box that delivers water slowly and over time to the... »
March 31st, 2015
Published by Agronomy for Sustainable Development, December 31st, 2014
Nanotechnologies have been less developed in agronomy than other disciplines, due to less investment, but nanotechnologies have the potential to improve agricultural production. In this article at Springer Link (PDF), the authors review more than 200 reports on nanoscience in agriculture, livestock and aquaculture in China since the 1990s. The major findings of the research are: »
