ISLAMABAD: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will leverage synergies to support the implementation of the 2030 ‘Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals’ through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The two UN entities under an agreement seek to facilitate the development of e-agriculture policies and regulations as well as ICT-centric innovation clusters that strengthen national and regional agricultural competitiveness. The agreement is also aimed at enhancing the capacity of rural communities to adopt and use ICTs in agriculture, climate change monitoring and disaster-prevention.

Last year, FAO and ITU jointly developed the ‘E-Agriculture Strategy Guide’ that suggests a framework for countries to develop their national e-agriculture strategy and master plan.

E-agriculture is seen as an emerging field focusing on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. In this context, ICT is used as an umbrella term encompassing all information and communication technologies including devices, networks, mobiles, services and applications. These range from innovative internet-era technologies and sensors to other pre-existing aids such as fixed telephones, television sets, radios and satellites.

E-agriculture continues to evolve in scope as new ICT applications continue to be harnessed in the agriculture sector. More specifically, e-agriculture involves the conceptualisation, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use ICTs in the rural domain, with a primary focus on agriculture.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2017