Category: Capacities for Change

In this second instalment of the Emerging Technology (EmTech) blog series, the UK Government Office for Science (GOS) is exploring some new technologies for agriculture. This series covers some of the innovative and exciting technologies the GOS's EmTech Scanning Programme has identified. (Find the original post here.) The Future of Farming The transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies… Continue reading How are emerging technologies changing the way we farm our food?

LET'S BE FRANK: 2018 was not exactly a banner year for the planet. Nearly every major environmental assessment presented grim results: crucial habitats like tropical forests continue to disappear; wildlife populations declined 60% over the last 40 years; and, perhaps most alarming, we’re failing to make the progress we need to keep the climate within safe boundaries. We still have… Continue reading 10 Groups to Watch in 2019

Dr. Iman El-Kaffass of GFAR Secretariat delivered a keynote speech to encourage participants at a conference of the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi) to step back and see agriculture—as well as the farmer and student of agriculture—holistically. The GUNi International Conference “Generating Synergies between Science, Technology and Humanities,” held in Barcelona, Spain on November… Continue reading The Comprehensive Farmer: What can (s)he teach our students?

A new mentoring toolkit developed as part of a GFAR Collective Action synthesises a decade of valuable learnings and resources, openly accessible for use by youth in agriculture! Four years ago, we coordinated our first mentoring program. We were working on the youth engagement component of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) taking place in Lima, Peru, focused on… Continue reading Want to run a mentoring program? This toolkit will show you how

Many conversations about open data for agriculture and nutrition promote the win-win scenario of improved livelihoods for farmers, as well as more nutritious, environmentally conscious food. However, examples of open data benefiting farmers often only span one growing season, or include small groups of farmers. This begs the question, does open data truly have the capacity… Continue reading Collaboration is key to achieving the long-term benefits of data sharing

We celebrate World Development Information Day by highlighting CCAFS' work on climate information services in Africa. Information and communications technologies have the potential to provide new solutions to development challenges, particularly in the context of globalization, and can foster economic growth, competitiveness, access to information and knowledge, poverty eradication and social inclusion." UN General Assembly… Continue reading Leveraging climate information services to help farmers cope with climate change in Africa

Blockchain appeared in our lives as a modern technology that promises ubiquitous financial transactions among distributed untrusted parties, without the need of intermediaries such as banks. Several ongoing projects and initiatives now illustrate the impact blockchain technology is having on agriculture and suggest it has great potential for the future.   As blockchain technology gains… Continue reading The Rise of Blockchain Technology in Agriculture

There are many inter-linked issues in the whole data value chain that affect the ability of farmers, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, to access, use and harness the benefit of data and data-driven technologies. There are policy issues (decisions on making data open and prioritizing types of data to open up to investment decisions);… Continue reading Expert consultation in Bonn on “Ethical, legal and policy aspects of data sharing affecting farmers”

At a recent YES Bank panel and digital startup competition, it was evident that India’s digital boom was lending the Indian startup ecosystem a distinctly agri-flavour. The convergence of mobile networks, broadband internet, cloud platforms, IoT, AI and open data is helping transform one of the world’s oldest professions. This is of great significance as… Continue reading Tech transformation: how agriculture is being redefined through digital innovation and startups

Our Foundation and partners are helping local radio stations in Kenya to establish agricultural advice programs*. Fabian Oswald, studying Science Communications in Germany, has chosen this topic for his Master’s thesis. He recently investigated the knowledge exchange between three stations, their listeners and advisors.  “Everybody warned me in advance: This was research I couldn’t plan… Continue reading Sometimes, it all runs like clockwork

TAP and GFAR are pleased to invite you to the webinar: Sharing Knowledge on Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation through TAPipedia Partager les connaissances sur le renforcement des capacités pour l'innovation agricole à travers TAPipedia (in French language - en langue française) Date: 10 July 2018 Time: 11:30 AM Rome time (GMT +2) Duration: 1.5 hours REGISTER… Continue reading GFAR/TAP/FARA Webinar in French language: “Sharing Knowledge on Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation through TAPipedia”