The Director General José Graziano da Silva has said at a meeting of agriculture ministers of the G20 in China that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) helps in monitor of crop growth, reports NaijaAgroNet.
He also said that this would promoting sustainable agriculture requires a renewed focus on innovation and investment in research, technology and capacity development,
“ICT helps in the monitoring of crop growth, utilization of new techniques, field management and harvests,” the FAO Director-General said, stressing that it has also become an essential tool for improving people’s livelihoods and welfare while advancing social justice and ensure equal access to opportunities, particularly in rural areas.
Telecommunication tools, he told NaijaAgroNet, have the potential to provide Internet access for millions of people and connect farmers with digital agriculture. This includes the use of mobile phones to report animal disease outbreaks, which is one area FAO has been supporting in recent years.
Among the innovative ways FAO is using ICT, Graziano da Silva highlighted a new partnership with Google, whose satellite data and processing power will usher in an unprecedented level of environmental literacy, especially on forestry and fisheries, he said.
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