In November 2020, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Offices for Europe and CIS, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia launched the “Digital Excellence in Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia" contest to identify, showcase and celebrate good practices and innovative solutions that have proven successful in advancing the digital transformation of agriculture in the regions.
The regional contest follows seven phases:
- Call for Good Practices in the field of Digital Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia - Submission of good practices from 4 November until 11 January 2021;
- Nomination of outstanding practices in the course of May 2021;
- Production of a stocktaking report including all good practices received;
- Selection of the finalists and awardees;
- Production of a special promotional video focusing on outstanding good practices as well as the production of the Digital Excellence in Agriculture report;
- “Digital Excellence in Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia" virtual Awards Ceremony on 23 September 2021;
- Launching event of the "Digital Excellence in Agriculture" Report in the course of December.
With nearly 200 applicants from 38 countries in the regions, the first phase of the Regional Contest revealed a diverse, dynamic and future-thinking ecosystem of innovators and problem-solvers. It empowered individuals and organizations applying innovative methods of ICTs to showcase solutions and best practices in response to the agriculture challenges of Europe and Central Asia.
171 solutions were considered to meet the eligibility criteria to enter the Digital Excellence in Agriculture contest. As a result of the evaluation process, 28 practices were nominated as finalists to compete for the final part of the contest. The selection of finalists was announced during the ITU-FAO "Stocktaking Report: Digital Excellence in Agriculture - Good practices in the field of digital agriculture" Launching Event.
The evaluation committee identified 21 outstanding practices (three per category) which competed for the Special Recognition of Digital Excellence in Agriculture. Additionally, the evaluation committee selected 7 champions (one per category) coming from the 18 countries of the ITU-FAO review on the Status of Digital Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia. The winners and honorable mentions (2nd and 3rd positions) of the "Digital Excellence in Agriculture" Special Recognition and Champions were announced during the Awards Ceremony on 23 September 2021, where the 28 finalists received the opportunity to present their innovations and outstanding achievements.
Click here to access the list of the 28 finalists and their titles.
This regional contest is a follow up to the joint ITU-FAO review on the Status of Digital Agriculture in 18 Countries of Europe and Central Asia, where Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been clearly observed to play an emerging role in Europe and Central Asia in the field of agriculture.
This regional contest contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda set by the United Nations, and, in particular SDG 2 “Zero Hunger", in order to close the digital, rural and gender divides, known as the triple divide, and include all members of society in the digital transition. The contest is also an important milestone in the implementation of the ITU and FAO Regional Initiatives.
Read more about the ITU Regional Initiatives for Europe here and for CIS here.
Read more about the FAO Regional Initiatives for Europe and Central Asia here.
Join the e-agriculture community of practice here.
