The huge potential of ICT for agriculture (ICT4Ag), from increasing agricultural yields to helping farmers get a fairer price for their produce, is well documented. Technologies such as SMS applications, mobile banking and satellite data have been used successfully to give agricultural stakeholders access to farm mapping, weather data, marketing tools, financial credit, advice from extension workers, and social networks, among other things. These technological applications are capable of reaching hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers and stakeholders in rural areas, acting as a catalyst for positive change and in achieving the SDGs. However, limits on their reach include poor internet connectivity in the rural areas of developing nations, high illiteracy rates among smallholder farmers and fishers, and the inability of pilot projects to go to scale due to lack of long-term funding or not having measures for their sustainability built into the programme design. This booklet will inspire agricultural stakeholders around the world – from the smallholder farmer to governments and their international trading partners – to further realise the remarkable change that ICTs can effect in the lives of rural and farming communities.

With the ability to reach many farmers with timely and accessible content, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for agriculture (ICT4Ag) has the potential to transform farming and food production, worldwide. ICT4Ag supports new methods in the monitoring and management of soils, plants and livestock (precision agriculture), access to online markets, and improved communication between value chain stakeholders, among others. The services provided are vital in connecting farmers with the information they need to improve their agricultural productivity and reduce poverty. Through case studies and examples of ICT4Ag initiatives from across Asia, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, the first chapter looks at how ICT4Ag actually works to drive economic development across developing economies.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. Today, ICT represents a tremendous opportunity for rural populations to improve productivity, to enhance food and nutrition security, to access markets, and to find employment opportunities in a revitalized sector. ICT has unleashed incredible potential to improve agriculture, and it has found a foothold even in poor smallholder farms. ICT in Agriculture, Updated Edition is the revised version of the popular ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook, first launched in 2011 and designed to support practitioners, decision makers, and development partners who work at the intersection of ICT and agriculture. Our hope is that this updated Sourcebook will be a practical guide to understanding current trends, implementing appropriate interventions, and evaluating the impact of ICT interventions in agricultural programs.

Spore Magazine 186: Big Data and Climate Insurance - Reducing Risk and Maximising Revenues Increasingly accessible agricultural data is facilitating the scaling out of index-based insurance schemes and helping farmers build resilience and adapt to climate change. SPORE is the quarterly magazine of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), offering a global perspective on agribusiness and sustainable agriculture. CTA operates under the Cotonou Agreement between the countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union and is financed by the EU.

This volume provides apt and timely insights into how a globalizing African society could use the array of opportunities that various applications of ICT offer to supply much-needed food sustainability for the people of Africa. Looking at the entire agricultural value chain, the book presents a viable empirical framework for engaging with ICT in processes of food production and distribution, especially for rural low-scale agriculturists. It also depicts how the platform of ICT could play a central role in making the larger continental-goal of sustainable food security a realistic projection. In addition, the text considers how different regional dynamics could either enable or disable the efficient deployment of ICTs in the process of agricultural production in Africa, and highlights the relative progress that has been recorded in some parts of Africa in respect to the use of various ICT platforms in processes of agricultural production and distribution. The book will be particularly useful for students, researchers, teachers and policy makers working in the intersection between technology and food security.

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

ICT Update is a bimonthly printed and on line magazine (http://ictupdate.cta.int) and an accompanying email newsletter published by CTA. This issue focuses on value chains.