Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2) aims to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. It also calls for universal access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food at all times of the year. This will require sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices, equal access to land, technology and markets and international cooperation on investments in infrastructure and technology to boost agricultural productivity.

ICTs play a key role in supporting the achievement of SDG 2. They provide access to digital information services and online education to farmers, extension agents, agricultural marketing parties and institutions and all service providers in the agricultural production and delivery services value chain.

These developments are underpinned by a level of capacity building in various areas such as the development and implementation of national e-agriculture policies and strategies, the use of new agricultural technological advances, as well as the adoption of modern agricultural management practices.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are cooperating to promote the use of ICTs in agriculture. They have carried out several awareness raising and capacity building exercises at national and international levels. Experiences suggest that there is a need to strengthen and expand these efforts to reach all stakeholders, including policy makers, regulators, extension workers, farmers, associations, research institutes, agriculture and telecom industry and IT service providers in the development, adoption and use of ICTs in agriculture.

This session explores current ICT applications designed for agriculture and discusses capacity building issues and challenges related to the use of these applications, as well as the training and awareness raising progammes designed to support their adoption.

A panel of experts with diverse backgrounds will exchange knowledge, ideas and experiences of how capacity building in e-agriculture has helped to improve agricultural production, marketing, distribution and general management.  The session will be led by a moderator.