Action Line C7 - Building a Framework for Digital Innovation in Agriculture

The food and agricultural sector is going to face enormous challenges to feed the 9.6 billion people who will inhabit the planet by 2050, and food production must increase by 70% by 2050. Digital innovation, which means transforming ideas into value in a sustainable way, is key transforming the food and agriculture sector to address these challenges and achieve the SDGs in line with the WSIS Action Lines. Innovative use of digital technologies contribute to improving livelihoods of farmers, increase nutrition and food security, reduce poverty, and provide solutions to better adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture. In addition, innovation and ICTs help us to improve society productivity and to reach the most vulnerable.  However, it is necessary to develop a strategic framework for sustainable digital innovation to support collaboration of UN agencies, partners, and national governments in implementing ICTs,  digital innovation programmes, and increase e-agriculture initiatives and capacity development. The aim of such framework is to achieve (a) accelerated upscaling of critical services, (b) reduced deployment costs addressing urban and rural realities, (c) enhanced public awareness and engagement, (d) innovation, connectivity, productivity and efficiency, and (e) faster upgrading in the quality of services and employment opportunities. Promoting the concept of innovation as transforming ideas into value also means building cross-industry multi-stakeholder partnerships and networks to explore, test and replicate new technologies, processes and capacity development for agriculture and food systems development. Within the scope of the framework are initiatives like the WSIS, ITU-FAO co-organized regional and global Hackathons to promote competitions and projects to develop/prototype innovative applications and support the arising of start-ups and young developers and entrepreneurs. An example in FAO is the partnership with Google Earth Engine (GEE), leveraging Google's computing platform  to run geospatial analysis. In partnership with one of the largest private telecommunication companies, Telefonica, FAO is piloting the use of remote sensing and the Internet of Things (IoT) for water productivity in agriculture. In addition, FAO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are partnering to  strengthen agro-meteorological services and improve monitoring for early warning and response to high-impact events like droughts by connecting farmers and fishers to improved technologies to better cope. Within this scope, FAO is developing mobile applications to empower rural small holder and family farmers by providing direct, real-time, localized advisory services, such as nutrition, market access and fair trade, weather and crop calendars, and disease and pest control for livestock. Overall, WSIS Beyond 2018 should focus on establishing environments and networks aim to identify and develop new digital solutions and processes for food systems development and poverty reduction, facilitating knowledge transfer between countries and sustainable development organizations. This will help the international community harness digital innovation and steer it towards social good, particularly to build resilience and improve livelihoods of small-scale farmers and fishers.