Pilot Digital Villages Initiative In Africa

The Digital Villages Initiative (DVI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a corporate programme aiming to combat hunger, poverty and inequality by fostering digital rural transformation. This is being carried out through the establishment of, or support to 1 000 smart rural villages supplied with the digital services needed for agrifood systems and rural transformation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The DVI supports the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031, which responds to key global challenges, including those engendered by COVID-19, “a global crisis, which highlighted the critical mandate of FAO to ensure functioning and sustainable agrifood systems that allow for sufficient production and consumption of food” (FAO, 2021). The programme is being implemented in various regions of the world, including Africa. In sub-Africa, it is led by the Regional Office for Africa (RAF) of FAO and is being deployed on a pilot basis in a few countries. Lessons learned will be shared while opportunities for scaling up/replication in other countries will be explored. A call for expressions of interest was made to identify which countries were interested in participating in the initiative. Seven countries responded positively and have been preselected to be part of the initial pilot: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Somalia.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is spearheading efforts to leverage digitalization for sustainable agrifood systems. This publication provides a roadmap for accelerating the adoption of impactful digital solutions across the Africa region. With Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the publication offers an in-depth exploration of the current landscape of FAO’s digital agriculture interventions across sub-Saharan Africa, dissecting key projects and their impact on crop production, risk reduction, and value chain enhancement. Through an extensive survey and analysis of 72 projects spanning various agricultural subsectors, the publication sheds light on the prevalence of digital tools in enhancing crop production and livestock management, and on the disparities in digital adoption across different subregions. The publication underscores the critical role of digital literacy and infrastructure in driving the success of digital agriculture initiatives, emphasizing the imperative of inclusivity. It also highlights the need for fostering awareness, building capacity, and advocating for improved digital access and governance to unlock the full potential of digital solutions for Africa. Among the key findings are the predominant use of simpler digital technologies such as mobile applications and SMS services, signalling the importance of user-friendly solutions tailored to the needs of farmers. However, it also underscores the necessity of embracing more advanced technologies to address complex challenges such as climate resilience and supply chain management.

Achieving Zero Hunger, defeating poverty and accelerating sustainable inclusive growth are key objectives pursued by the African continent, particularly in the framework of the UN Agenda 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063. However, the region has been facing persistent challenges resulting in high levels of food and nutrition insecurity, rampant poverty, environmental threats, underperformance of the agrifood sector, unemployment and under-employment for young (male and female) people, especially in rural areas. Addressing the challenges and seizing the available opportunities require news skills, capabilities and product development, which notably involves strongly anchoring digital technologies in all business processes. Falling costs of digital technologies and their popularisation are driving innovations to develop solutions to improve the productivity, incomes and resilience of farmers and food systems. This includes the building of more adaptive and agile value chains through use of data, leveraging the power of satellite observation and geodata to address pest and disease threats; the development of novel solutions for supporting farmers’ social protection; and the enhancement of traceability systems applied to food products from farm to fork. The COVID-19 impacts have demonstrated even more the need to mainstream digital solutions in agrifood business, policy and development programme implementation processes

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

Digital capabilities can help to meet future demand for safe and nutritious food, better manage natural resources and contribute to high-quality growth in productivity and in the economy. They are already the driving force behind the profound transformation of our agrifood systems and the emergence of a new vision of agriculture. 2022 has been another exceptional year of Digital Transformation in Action for FAO, further accelerated by the strong momentum achieved and with strong organizational support. The aim of this report is to provide a comprehensive overview of the key achievements related to FAO’s Digital for Impact throughout the year and to introduce the Organization's next stages in the digital journey as we look forward to next year, the year of excellence and more.

In this issue: From the Editors - Lessons of Fukushima & Chernobyl Special ReportFukushima Nuclear Crisis Freeing the World from GMOsEmergency! Pathogen New to Science Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops?Scientist Defends Claim of New Pathogen Linked to GM CropsScientists Discover New Route for GM-gene “Escape” Letters to the Editor Celebrating ISIS Avant Garde Art/Science Event to Recover Beauty & TruthQuantum Jazz Biology & MedicineQuantum Jazz ArtQuantum Jazz MusicUrban Forest GardenA Very Big Thank You! ISIS essayWhy Beauty is Truth & Truth Beauty Green DevelopmentLighting AfricaAfrican Union to Support Organic FarmingSustainable Agriculture Urgently Needed, UN Agencies Say No to Cloned AnimalsCloned Meat & Milk Coming Be Very AfraidUnacceptable Death Rates End Cloning Trials in New Zealand Technology WatchStem Cells Repair without TransplantHuman Milk from Cloned Transgenic Cattle

This book examines the phenomenal growth over recent years of StarTimes, a Chinese pay-TV company with around 30 million subscribers providing satellite television to 20 African countries. The broadcaster, whose markets include demographic groups deemed uneconomic by Western television providers, combines entertainment such as Chinese drama and Kung Fu content dubbed into African languages with Chinese state programming, thus making the station at least partially a public diplomacy instrument. At the same time, the channel provides new indigenous language channels, widened access to television in rural areas, and sponsors African soccer brands. The book considers all aspects of StarTimes: how it fits into China’s development assistance programmes; its structure as a private company nonetheless financed by Chinese banks; and, based on extensive interview research in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, how the station is perceived by media professionals. Overall, the book shows how this major Chinese international media expansion both contributes very significantly to African development in a way which is sensitive to local concerns, and at the same time enhances China’s international image.