The need for national e-agriculture strategies has been acknowledged by many stakeholders, however only a limited amount of countries have adopted such documents. An e-agriculture strategy can offer critical support to rationalizing of resources – financial and human – better harnessing of ICT opportunities and addressing challenges in the agricultural sector. The existence of a comprehensive national strategy can prevent e-agriculture projects from being implemented in isolation and develops efficiency gains within the sector as well as cross sector synergies. Any effective roadmap for e-agriculture will require a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach as ICTs are also driving other sectors critical for agriculture, namely banking, weather monitoring, insurance, logistics and e-governance.
The national e-agriculture strategy guide provides an essential framework for developing or revitalizing a country’s e-agriculture strategy in alignment with agricultural goals and priorities.
Among countries which have already adopted a dedicated e-agriculture strategy are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines and Sri Lanka.
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E-AGRICULTURE STRATEGY GUIDE (2016)
The strategy guide provides methodology & tools designed to support the development of a national e-agriculture vision & strategy.
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FAO and ITU jointly prepared the e-agriculture strategy guide and toolkit to provide a methodology and a set of tools to assist countries in developing a national e-agriculture vision, action plan and implementation strategy.
The guide is designed to support the development of a national e-agriculture strategy for countries that have yet to put one in place. But it can also be used to improve on existing strategies, for countries that have already embarked on this approach. In all cases, it is expected to facilitate achieving the country’s agricultural goals and priorities in a timely, effective and efficient manner.
The strategy guide is intended for use by agriculture sector managers/leaders in ministries, departments and agencies who will manage the development of an e-agriculture strategy in close consultation with the ecosystem. Multi-stakeholder, cross sector consultations are essential for developing a national e-Agriculture vision, and must therefore include stakeholders from all areas of the ecosystem, including ICT, food processing, rural development, irrigation and water management, land allocation and classification, meteorological services, disaster management, transportation, e-governance, finance and commerce. The successful application of the guide requires a team experienced in strategic planning, sectoral knowledge, analysis and communication.
Specifically, this guide addresses: (i) Establishing a national e-agriculture vision, (ii) Developing a national e-agriculture action plan, and (iii) Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of an e-agriculture strategy.
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