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Tackling poverty and hunger through Digital Innovation

Technical Report · March 2018

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 Tackling poverty and
hunger through
DIGITAL INNOVATION
Information note March 2018
August 2018 Photocredit cover: ©FAO
 3

CONTENTS
1. IIntroduction ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4

2. ITHE CHALLENGES AHEAD ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5

3.IMAKING DIGITAL INNOVATION WORK FOR SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS AND RURAL

DEVELOPMENT��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8
3.1 Rural advisory services and e-learning���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9
3.2 Meteorological information���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 10
3.3 Risk management in agriculture ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11
3.3.1 Early warning / drought-flood alert ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11
3.3.2 Control of pests and diseases � �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11
3.3.2 Insurance schemes�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13
3.4 Market information and e-commerce����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14
3.5 Natural resource management and productive inclusion����������������������������������������������������������� 14
3.6 Farm registries��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15
3.7 Financial inclusion���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16
3.8 Social protection programmes������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17
3.9 Sharing knowledge and innovation������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17

4.IMAKING BETTER USE OF ICTS TO ACHIEVE SDG 1 AND SDG 2 IN RURAL AREAS������������������ 18

5. ITHE WAY FORWARD: PARTNERING FOR DIGITAL INNOVATION � ��������������������������������������������19

REFERENCES����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21
4

1. INTRODUCTION Many continue to rely on traditional ICTs or have

limited access to ICTs. To what extent can digital
innovation better serve those farthest behind? Can
Information and communication technologies ICTs benefit the more vulnerable layers of our society
(ICTs) make a significant contribution to growth living in rural areas? Can they help reduce risks
and socio-economic development in countries and in agriculture and increase profit for small-scale
regions around the globe. The widespread adoption producers? Can they provide alternative livelihoods
and integration of ICTs has reduced information and to new generations of rural youth looking for a better
transaction costs, improved service delivery, created future? How can digital innovation and new use of
new jobs, generated new revenue streams, and helped ICTs in agriculture contribute to eliminating rural
conserve resources. ICTs have also transformed poverty and hunger, and provide alternatives to
the way businesses, people and governments work, migration?
interact, and communicate. This information note explores these questions and the
ICT innovation is also revolutionizing the agriculture potential for ICTs and digital technologies to accelerate
and food sectors. In developed economies, innovations the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 1
such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, (No poverty) and 2 (Zero hunger) within the context of
data analytics and block-chain are changing the way rural areas.
agriculture does business. Remote sensors collect
data on soil moisture, temperature, crop growth and
livestock feed levels, enabling farmers to achieve better
yields by optimizing crop management and reducing
the use of fertilizers, pesticides and water.
ICT companies, multinationals and large machinery
manufacturers, as well as small and medium farm
input suppliers, provide services (including extension)
to farmers and their organizations through digital
means. Downstream, supermarkets and agricultural
product buyers engage in the food value chain through
ICTs. New technologies are also used by farmers’
cooperatives, international organizations, civil society,
and governments to provide information on many
aspects of farming, including regulation.
However, the rapid global revolution in ICT stands
in stark contrast to the continuing high numbers of
extreme poor and hungry individuals in the world. The
new digital technologies and innovative use of ICTs
creates enormous opportunities and poses daunting
challenges to ending poverty and hunger. On one hand,
there is potential to increase productivity and wealth,
generate new activities, products and services, and
improve livelihoods.
On the other hand, such opportunities can lead to
further alienation of marginalized communities and an
exacerbation of existing socio-economic inequalities.
In fact, not all communities benefit from emerging
technology and ICT-driven innovation.
©FAO
 5

2. THE CHALLENGES targeted poverty reduction programmes in prioritized

and marginalized areas. Access to ICTs can help reduce

AHEAD rural isolation, enhance family solidarity, increase

access to information and services, improve the ability
to find employment and, at a community level, lead
to higher economic capacity and productivity and
Reaching SDG 1 and SDG 2 requires governments, wider citizen participation in democratic processes.
international organizations and society to take all Experience shows that this can be achieved with
necessary measures to eliminate extreme poverty affordable devices and Internet access, especially if
and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and these services are delivered through local entrepreneurs
sufficient food all year round – all of this within the or community access networks.
next 12 years.
Considerable progress has been achieved in reducing
poverty in the last three decades, mainly driven by
China’s economic transformation. However, over 2 Key Facts
billion still live in poverty, including 783 million people In the last 15 years, Internet and digital usage has
living below the extreme poverty line. From 1993 to increased rapidly; more people now have mobile
2013, while overall levels of extreme poverty dropped, phones than sanitation or clean water. Today, there
the share of the extreme poor living in sub-Saharan are nearly 4.3 billion mobile-broadband subscriptions
Africa and South Asia increased from 18 percent and in existence (ITU, 2017). Over 3.6 billion individuals
29 percent to 51 percent and 33 percent, respectively use the Internet, and even among the poorest 20
(World Bank, 2016b). The estimated number of percent of the population, 7 out of 10 households
undernourished people actually increased, from 777 have a mobile phone (World Bank, 2016a).
million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016 (FAO, 2017a).
With future population growth concentrated in
sub-Saharan Africa, it is there in particular that the
But the role of ICTs and digital innovation for poverty
struggle to achieve SDGs 1 and 2 will take place. Out
and hunger elimination requires addressing the digital
of the additional 2.2 billion people who may be added
divide between rich and poor. There is a gap between
to the global population between 2017 and 2050, 1.3
those developing and using new technologies and
billion will be in Africa. There will be more youth in
those relying on others to develop solutions. The
sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world
number of mobile-broadband subscriptions in least
(UNDESA, 2017).
developed countries (LDCs) has grown more than
Traditional and new ICTs, such as radio, the Internet, 50 percent annually over the last five years. However,
television, mobile applications, drones and satellites only 15 percent of households in LDCs have Internet
facilitate communication and the processing and access at home, and just over 20 percent have a mobile-
transmission of information. They can be effective broadband subscription – four times less than in
instruments for empowering rural populations, developed countries (ITU, 2017). Furthermore, only
increasing choices for rural men and women, especially 22 per 100 inhabitants use the Internet in Africa,
youth, and enhancing their abilities in order to increase compared with 48 per 100 globally (ITU, 2017).
incomes and better participate in the development of
For this reason, the impact of these technologies could be
their communities.
negative if the digital divide is not addressed, increasing
The application in agriculture of digital trends, such as the probability of the most vulnerable being left behind.
artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science The risk is increasing inequality between those who
and analytics, the Internet of things, remote sensing, have access and those who do not, thus increasing the
crowdsourcing, and block-chain, is helping the world rewards for people with skills and access while upping the
move beyond information delivery to knowledge sharing. penalties for those without (World Bank, 2016a). These
When effectively deployed, ICTs facilitate the provision inequalities are reflected between industrialized and
of and access to formal and informal education, the agricultural economies, urban and rural areas, men and
delivery of public services, and the implementation of women, and among economic classes.
 6

=
NTG
Figure 1. Internet user gender gap (%), 2012 and 2017

32.9
29.9
2013 2017
25.3
20.7

19.2

17.4
17.3

17.1

16.1
15.8
11.6
11.0
9.4
7.9
7.5

5.8
5.8

2.8
-0 .4
-2.6
Africa Arab Asia & Europe CIST World Developed Developing LDCs
The
States Pacific
Americas

Source: ITU, 2017.

As with other productive resources and services, On the other hand, youth are particularly connected:
women in rural areas have less access to ICTs than 71 percent of young people aged 15–24 use the
men. The gap in the proportion of women worldwide Internet, compared with 48 percent of the total
using the Internet compared with men was 12 percent population (ITU, 2017). And, youth represent a higher
in 2017 (ITU, 2017). This gap correlates with levels of share of people online in LDCs compared with youth
economic development and is largest in LDCs, at 33 in developed countries (Figure 2). However, youth in
percent. Regional disparities are significant, ranging LDCs remain less connected than youth in developed
from 25 percent in Africa to 2 percent in the Americas countries. Most poor youth live, and will continue
- the latter in favour of women (Figure 1). While the to live, in rural areas. Agriculture will continue to be
gender gap has narrowed in most regions since 2013, it the main source of employment for this demographic
has widened in Africa (ITU, 2017). group, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Figure 2. Proportion of youth (15-24) Internet users and youth in the population, 2017

37.3
35.1

26.3 27.6
25.8
23.4
20.1 21.0 20.3
17.9 16.8
15.7 15.7 15.8 15.9
13.8 13.0
11.9 11.5 11.2

Africa Arab Asia & Europe CIST The World Developed Developing LDCs
States Pacific Americas

Proportion of youth (15-24) Internet users Proportion of youth (15-24) in the population

Source: ITU, 2017.

 7

The four categories of barriers to Internet adoption Efforts in this field must go hand in hand with
are: low incomes and affordability, user capability, increased capacity development in ICT for the poorer
infrastructure and incentives, (McKinsey, 2014). The layers of the population as well as support for ICT-
limited availability of ICT applications and content directly based innovations aiming specifically at vulnerable
relevant the world’s poor is a disincentive. Overcoming populations. Training and digital innovation
these barriers requires skilled human resources, ecosystems can help stimulate the development of
institutional capacity to ensure the right information in youth-driven ICT and digital services to address
the right formats, and a broader range of e-government concrete challenges faced by local communities.
services that use open Information Technology standards. Innovation enablers must be created in local
Moreover, ICT training should be tailored to the particular communities to support entrepreneurship and
needs of poorer rural populations, including their innovation, ultimately generating inclusive growth.
language, culture and traditions. being positioned as a solution for youth employment,
whether it is in urban or rural areas.
For young people, access to information means better
access to capital, markets and training needed to Boosting ICT adoption among poor rural people,
pursue a career or studies; increased participation especially women and youth, will require facilitating
in political processes; and recognition of youth access to cheaper and more reliable access to ICT
as responsible citizens in today’s society. Youth devices and connectivity and making services more
entrepreneurship – which is facilitated by access to relevant for them. Efforts in this field must go hand in
technology, the Internet and information – is fast hand with increased capacity development in ICT for
being positioned as a solution for youth employment, the poorer layers of the population as well as support
whether it is in urban or rural areas. Boosting ICT for ICT-based innovations aiming specifically at
adoption among poor young people will require vulnerable populations. Building up human capacity
facilitating access to cheaper and more reliable access is as critical as the development of infrastructure for
to ICT devices and connectivity and making services better connectivity.
more relevant for them.
©FAO/Alioune Ndiaye
8

3. MAKING DIGITAL A review of several applications and studies suggests

that the information relayed by ICTs should be

INNOVATION WORK properly targeted in order to guide livelihood

decisions. In the case of agriculture, for example,

FOR SMALL-SCALE
the information provided to farmers must be locally
relevant and specific to their needs (e.g. prevailing

PRODUCERS AND
food prices in local markets). This requires local
knowledge and significant resources (Nakasone, Torero

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
and Minten, 2014). The manner or mode in which
information is delivered is also a crucial determinant of
effectiveness. ICTs encompass many different types of
technologies, from computers and the Internet to radio
Rural households are economic agents that make and television to mobile phones.
their choices using all of the information available to
Impact varies widely depending on which specific
them. Based on this information, they choose which
technology is used, but also on users’ level of literacy.
economic activity to pursue, what to plant, which inputs
SMS, voice messages, short video trainings, audio
to use and how, when to plow or fish, when to seed,
messages, social media interventions and virtual
when to harvest, how much to keep for consumption
extension platforms that can improve peer networks
in the household, how much to sell to raise cash, and
(though online platforms/websites) can effectively
how much to store. They often make their choices in
enable one-to-one information sharing. Audio
an adverse economic environment in which markets
or voice-based question and answer services may
do not function well, they face the difficult challenge
overcome the limitations of text-based platforms. SMS
of managing risk, and where very little information
messages can be effective for simple price or weather
is available to inform their decisions. As a result,
information, but to facilitate and revolutionize learning
their choices are often not optimal. ICTs and digital
and make knowledge widely accessible, other more
innovation can play a crucial role in bridging this
innovative methods will be necessary.
critical information and advisory gap (Figure 3).

Figure 3. The role of ICTs for information in agriculture

ICTs assist with implementing regulatory ICTs bridge the gap between agricultural
policies, frameworks and ways to monitor researchers, extension agents and farmers
progress. theyreby enhancing agricultural prodiction.

Regulatory & Agricultural

policy extension &
ICTs can widen the reach of local advisory service
communities, including women and youth, ICTs improve access to climate-smart
and provide newer business opportunities, solutions as well as appropriate knowledge
thereby enhancing livelihoods. Capacity Promote to use them.
building & environmentally
sustainable
empowerment
The role of farming
ICTs increase access to financial services practices
ICTS in
ICTs provide actionable information to
for rural communities, helping to secure communities and governments on disaster
savings, find affordable insurance and tools Financial Disaster prevention, in real-time, while also providing
to better manage risks. inclusion, agriculture management & advice on risk-mitigation techniques.
insurance early warning
& risk system
management
ICTs help deliver more efficient ICTs facilitate market access for inputs as
and reliable data to comply with Food safety and Enhanced market well as product marketing and trade in a
international traceability and standards. traceability access variety of ways.

Source: FAO & ITU, 2016a.

 9

The following paragraphs explore how digital Sharing information, practices and knowledge among
innovation can make a significant contribution towards farmers facing similar challenges is also crucial to help
the eradication of poverty and hunger. Traditional and them improve their productivity and livelihoods. ICTs
new ICTs, can help provide access to rural advisory and can also facilitate dialogue between stakeholders and
financial services, market and weather information. across levels, and trigger learning through knowledge
They can help mitigate and adapt to different types of networks and platforms that provide a venue for the
risk, including providing early warning on droughts diverse actors to connect (FAO, 2013a).
or floods, animal and plant diseases and pests, as well
By increasing communication linkages between
as other production risks. ICTs can also help with
farmers, extension agents and research centres, ICTs
resource management and sustainable intensification of
can improve the flow of relevant information among all
production, as well as broader, complementary policies
these agents (Aker, 2010). They can also enhance access
key to rural smallholders, such as development of
to private information from social networks, thus
farmer registries or social protection programmes.
facilitating learning from one’s peers, which is crucial
To effectively contribute to the 2030 Agenda for technology adoption. Finally, ICT and digital
commitment of leaving no one behind, this innovation have enabled increase availability of local
contribution must happen in two dimensions. and hyper-local knowledge and data such as cloud-
First, ICTs must be geared towards fostering more based crowdsourcing innovations to collect real-time
inclusive growth, allowing family farmers, smallholder information from individuals.
producers and other poor rural households to
participate in, and benefit from, the growth process.
Second, the access to, and use of, ICTs by the hungry
and poorest of the poor in rural areas requires Agricultural services and digital
addressing the particular vulnerabilities that they face inclusion in Africa
in developing sustainable livelihoods.
In 2017, FAO launched the project Agricultural
Services and Digital Inclusion in Africa to improve the
provision of relevant information and advisory services
3.1 Rural advisory services to poor farmers through the development of mobile
apps.
and e-learning Four applications were developed using local
Traditional extension services face several challenges content (crop calendar, market information, animal
in developing countries that limit their efficiency. production/health, human nutrition) in Senegal and
Poor infrastructure makes it harder and more costly Rwanda. A particular emphasis is placed on the needs
to visit remote areas. For this reason, extension of young, self-employed entrepreneurs and female-
programmes often provide only one-time information headed households, breaking down the barriers
to farmers, lessening their long-term impact. In for access and use of information through digital
addition, traditional extension is plagued by principal- technologies.
agent and institutional problems, including a lack of Source: FAO, 2017d
accountability (Nakasone, Torero and Minten, 2014).
Knowledge sharing and training methods innovatively
using ICTs are important vehicles for improving
A number of barriers need to be overcome for mobile
access to information and enhancing knowledge on
learning to attain its full potential. Mobile devices are
sustainable production intensification technologies.
often viewed as offering entertainment rather than
Mobile learning, e-learning and advisory services all
education and the technology is sometimes dismissed as
offer a major opportunity for the poor to overcome
distractive or disruptive. The costs related to owning a
many obstacles to information and education, such
mobile phone and mobile learning also remain a barrier
as time availability, costs, distance and sociocultural
to accessibility, but sharing mobile devices can reduce
norms. ICTs can increase smallholder access to timely
costs and increase cooperative learning (FAO, 2018).
information while reducing the cost of extension visits,
enabling more frequent two-way communication A good example of innovative use of ICTs for advisory
between farmers and agents, and increasing agents’ services is the Community Knowledge Workers
accountability (Cole and Fernando, 2012). initiative of the Grameen Foundation (2018).
 10

The initiative brought together a network

of community agents in Uganda who act as 3.2 Meteorological
intermediaries between smallholders and smartphone
app content developers. This initiative overcame a
information
number of challenges associated with traditional Weather and climate services and products are
extension services – such as lack of extension agents, important instruments for small-scale producers,
remoteness and difficulties in reaching rural areas – as allowing them to plan agricultural activities, optimize
well as those associated with access and affordability of production, manage climate-related risks and
ICTs. Technology has become more accessible for these integrate climate change adaptation in their decisions.
poor communities since the Community Knowledge ICTs are used by meteorological agencies to collect,
Worker is the focal point and thus the only one who disseminate and analyse agrometeorological and agro-
needs access to a smartphone (Yonazi et al., 2012). climatological data and information.
Basic weather information provided via SMS can
be complemented by more complex information on
crop production, water, soil and vegetation, as well
Dimitra clubs as early warning and disaster preparedness. All this
information can be provided at the farm level, as user-
The FAO Dimitra listeners’ clubs are groups of women,
friendly, comprehensive services, directly to farmer
men and young people – mixed or not – who decide
groups. Services can also be broadened to include
to organize themselves to work together to bring about
information related to water use, such as irrigation
changes in their communities. They meet regularly
schedules, crop water requirements, warning for pests
to discuss the challenges they face in their daily
and diseases, crop advice, and markets.
lives, make decisions and take action to resolve their
problems. For example, SmartCampo (2018) is a mobile
application through which farmers can check current
The clubs aim at promoting the leadership and voice
weather conditions in Paraguay and Brazil from
of rural areas’ most vulnerable people, particularly
available stations, and then generate custom reports
women and youth, in an effort to improve their
of farms and fields based on planting date, soil texture
livelihoods and food security, mainly in Africa. They
and irrigation practices. Farmers may also choose
make extensive use of simple ICTs such as wind-up
to receive daily or weekly notifications with weather
solar radio sets and mobile phones operating in fleets.
conditions observed in their fields.
Today, there are more than 1000 of these clubs in
Continually updated climatic and weather information
Niger alone and their numbers keep growing. The
is also used in data platforms and modelling systems,
clubs also allow women to share skills and experiences
which provide monitoring and early warning on food
with each other and learn about agricultural activities
security. The Global Information and Early Warning
that help them make an income.
System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), based at
Source: FAO, 2015c FAO, continuously monitors food supply and demand
and other key indicators for assessing the overall food
security situation in all countries of the world. It issues
regular analytical and objective reports on prevailing
conditions and provides early warnings of impending
food crises at the country or regional level.
GIEWS also strengthens national capacities in
managing food security-related information with
country-level application of tools for earth observation
and price monitoring.
©FAO/Dimitra
 11

3.3 Risk management in

Working together for climate agriculture
change adaptation
FAO and the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) have recently strengthened their cooperation 3.3.1 Early warning/drought-flood alert
to help poor farmers adapt to climate change. The
two organizations are working on strengthening The effects of climate change are making the goals
agro-meteorological services and making them of achieving food security and improving rural
more accessible to farmers and fishers through livelihoods increasingly challenging. In this context,
digital services, starting in Senegal and Rwanda. information is key to preparedness; for farmers, this
A key objective of this collaboration is to develop could mean the difference between a successful and a
national capacities to provide meteorological and failed harvest. ICT-based tools can assist in reducing
climate data for improved agricultural information the risks faced by smallholders.
to facilitate their integration into agriculture policies, One of the most effective ways to disseminate early
plans and strategies. warnings as well as agricultural pest and disease
information is through the use of SMS. Increased
digital capabilities and innovative solutions enable
rapid, real-time information to be shared to warn
individuals and communities contributing to disaster
risk reduction and resilience building. ICT innovations
for early warning and disaster information systems to
mitigate climate related risks exist worldwide.

3.3.2 Control of pests and diseases

©FAO/Hkun Lat

Plant pests and diseases

Monitoring and providing early warning on the spread
of pests (such as locusts and other migratory pests)
and outbreaks of plant diseases is crucial to ensure that
timely and appropriate action can be taken when an
Another platform is SERVIR, jointly developed by emergency arises.
NASA and USAID, which works in partnership
with leading regional organizations worldwide to ICTs and emerging technologies have become essential
help developing countries use information provided for linking global weather and ecological information
by orbiting satellites and geospatial technologies to with disease and pest related information. Real-time,
manage climate risks and land use (NASA, 2018). georeferenced data is collected in the field, sometimes
remotely, and then centralized and analysed on a daily
AfricaAdapt in Senegal facilitates vulnerable basis to alert when conditions are prone to the spread
communities’ access to information on climate change of pests for example.
adaptation from researchers, policy-makers and
civil society organizations. It acts as a community of FAO plays an important role in coordinating efforts
practice, and is supported by a website where members to improve management of plant pests and diseases at
can share updates on face-to-face meetings about their the global level – including as part of the Emergency
work and adaptation techniques. Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and
Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) Programme. ICT
At the micro level, the provision of timely updates on technologies and innovations, used for example by
local meteorological conditions can allow for sending the FAO Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS),
early warning messages related to extreme weather drastically improved early warning, forecasts and
events – such as potential flooding, for instance. control of desert locust outbreaks.
 12

First detected in Africa in 2016, the Fall Armyworm

feeds on more than 80 plant species, including maize,
The FAO Desert Locust Information rice, sorghum and sugarcane, but also vegetable crops
Service (DLIS) and cotton, with devastating impact on agriculture
in Africa. FAO has developed a mobile app to enable
The Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS) farmers, agricultural workers and other partners at the
continuously monitors the locust situation. Satellites frontline of the fight against Fall Armyworm in Africa
cannot detect the insects themselves but can to identify, report the level of infestation, and map the
accelerate identification of potential breeding spread of this destructive insect, as well as to describe
areas and make ground interventions more its natural enemies and the measures that are most
effective. Remote sensing imagery is used to detect effective in managing it. The app helps with monitoring
desert areas in which rain has fallen, where soil and early warning. The data will eventually feed into
is sufficiently moist for egg-laying, and where a cloud-based global platform for the mapping and
vegetation is green to provide food and shelter for analysis of Fall Armyworm location and movement.
locusts. Google Earth Engine technology is used to
deliver these products faster to affected countries and Regarding transboundary plant diseases, ICTs are used
decision-makers. In addition, national locust survey for collection and processing of surveillance data as
and control teams use rugged handheld tablets in the well as for sharing findings and alerting the relevant
field to record their observations, and then transmit stakeholders and farmers. Status of diseases can be
them in real time via satellite to their national locust monitored either through formal surveillance networks
control centres and to FAO DLIS. or through open crowdsourcing platforms. In addition
to standard networks, mobile communication tools can
Georeferenced data in the field are collected and help real-time collection of data from the field.
analysed on a daily basis. This analysis, carried out
by the national control locust centres and FAO DLIS, The Global Wheat Rust Monitoring System is a good
relies on a range of computer-based software tools example of a tool for close monitoring of a disease
which were developed by FAO and several partners situation, allowing decision-makers to mobilize funds
for early warning purposes, as well as specific and people to prevent or control disease outbreaks.
hardware such as the handheld device called The tool can also serve for early warning of producers
eLocust. These components constitute the oldest about emerging threats and outbreaks, as well as
migratory pest monitoring and early warning system facilitating collection and exchange of data on the
in the world. FAO is currently investigating the use of spread of wheat rust diseases and the varieties affected,
drones to support survey and control operations. thus helping both researchers and decision-makers.

Animal diseases
The fast growth in global demand for livestock products
countries all over the world offers new opportunities
for rural households to generate additional income,
provided that one of the main constraints, infectious
diseases, is controlled.
ICTs have become essential in the continuing fight
against these diseases. Early warning through use of
ICTs allows for quick and efficient response to control
transboundary and high-impact animal diseases. ICTs
also help addressing zoonotic diseases where there is a
risk of transmission to humans.
Many examples also exist of national veterinary services
©FAO/Y. Chiba

switching from paper reporting to smartphone-based

disease reporting systems, greatly reducing the time gap
between outbreak declaration and response.
 13

These early detection/early response systems have

prevented the spread of diseases that may have led 3.3.3 Insurance schemes
to regional or national crises if no action had been Insurance services are a key determinant for the
taken. The use of individual microchips also allows adoption of sustainable production intensification
for traceability of livestock (origin, vaccination status) approaches, especially in the context of climate change.
thereby facilitating both intra- and cross-border trade Insurance builds resilience and unlocks opportunities
and movement of livestock, which is very relevant to that facilitate investment in new agricultural
rural economies in sub-Saharan Africa for example. technologies or inputs.
Innovative instruments, such as index insurance, differ
from traditional indemnity insurance, where payouts
are explicitly based on measured loss. Instead, in index
The FAO Global Animal Diseases insurance farmers can purchase coverage based on an
Information System (EMPRES-i) index that is correlated with those losses, such as wind
speed, the amount of rain during a certain period (i.e.
The Global Animal Diseases Information System
weather-based indices), or average yield losses over a
(EMPRES-i) is today a global reference database for
larger region (area yield indices).
animal diseases including zoonosis. As part of FAO’s
EMPRES programme, this is a web-based platform ICT innovations in earth observation, satellite rainfall
that provides real-time information on animal disease estimations and remote sensing, combined with in situ
distribution and current threats at national, regional data, have helped overcome the high transaction costs
and global levels. EMPRES-i makes accessible associated with traditional multi-peril crop insurance.
to stakeholders epidemiological data on animal Millions of smallholder farmers, of which many were
disease outbreaks and surveillance such as African previously considered uninsurable, have now access to
swine fever, avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease market-based index insurance products (Greatrex et al.,
and Rift Valley fever. This platform stores disease 2015).
outbreak records and monitors diseases for provision
Microinsurance programmes, such as Kilimo Salama,
of health threat alerts, and has become a global
use ICTs to enhance access to insurance products.
reference database for animal diseases including
Kilimo Salama allowed Kenyan smallholder farmers to
zoonosis.
insure farm inputs against droughts or excessive rain
One of the main tools of EMPRES-i is the Event through prepaid mobile phone fees – for example, a
Mobile application (EMA-i), a digital tool used USD 2 bag of seeds would be insured for 10 cents. The
by veterinary services that provides real-time initiative evolved into the Agriculture and Climate
disease information from the field. The FAO EMA-i Risk Enterprise Ltd. (ACRE) that now undertakes
app allows for the collection and transmission of risk assessments, product development and risk
georeferenced data on animal health events in the monitoring to facilitate access to insurance products
field. The app includes mapping and reporting for smallholders in Kenya, Rwanda and the United
sections. All data collected and transmitted with Republic of Tanzania (van Vark, 2012).
EMA-i is stored in EMPRES-i, with access restricted
to authorized users. The system is in use in Uganda,
the United Republic of Tanzania, and Mali, with
expansion foreseen in other African countries.
©FAO/Luis Tato
14

3.4 Market information and orders from online consumers and delivers sorted
and cleaned groceries, vegetables and fruits. China’s
e-commerce e-commerce market, the world’s largest, is opening
the doors to the huge rural market for companies and
ICTs can bring significant benefits to small-scale farmers. The two biggest companies, Ali Baba and Jing
agriculture through better price information on Dong, have set up service stations in villages to help
markets. Prices signal opportunities for producers, local consumers with fewer skills to shop online. Jing
consumers and traders – such as when excess demand Dong has special programmes that contribute to the
is creating more profitable opportunities to sell. They government’s priority of eradicating poverty and one
also reflect changing consumption patterns and contain strategy is through direct support to local districts for
information that can be used by small scale producers building online halls of special local products.
when they decide what and how much to produce.
Farmers can better plan production and investments The use of e-commerce for rural poverty reduction
based on supply-and-demand fundamentals, thus has potential that goes beyond connecting small-scale
increasing market efficiency. agricultural producers with clients. In areas where
agriculture is seasonal, e-commerce can be used to sell
Facilitating market access by providing price artisanal and other products produced in the counter
information is the most frequent ICT application season. In Thailand, the sales of ecotourism and
in agriculture and is considered an area where new socially responsible tourism activities using electronic
technologies hold significant potential for impact. A platforms has also grown thanks to an ITU-FAO
number of studies provide a range of estimates for collaboration, contributing to the diversification of
the effect of price information on smallholders’ sale economic activities in rural areas.
prices and profits. In rural areas of Niger, agricultural
price information obtained through mobile phones
has reduced search costs by 50 percent (Aker and
Mbiti, 2010). The dissemination of price information 3.5 Natural resource
in Uganda resulted in a 15 percent increase in farmgate
prices for maize (Svensson and Yanagizawa, 2009). management and
Similar effects are suggested by researchers in Peru
and the Philippines (Beuermann, 2011; Labonne and
productive inclusion
Chase, 2009). Digital technology tapping into satellite imagery is
revolutionizing the way countries can access, monitor
One example of market information service is the one and plan the use of their natural resources, including
proposed by RML AgTech Pvt. Ltd. (Formerly known monitoring deforestation and desertification. Access to
as Reuters Market Light). Launched in the Indian easy-to-use digital tools that monitor forest cover, land-
state of Maharashtra in 2007, it provided an affordable use patterns and their changes over time are destined
SMS service with daily updates on prices, markets and to become increasingly important as countries around
weather to subscribing farmers. The platform later the world implement measures to adapt to and mitigate
evolved to offer this information through a smartphone climate change.
application, and currently also provides customized
market data reports to banks, procurement companies FAO and Google have partnered to enhance access to
and other organizations on market prices, volumes geospatial data and analysis through the Open Foris
and other information covering many crops and 1 initiative. This initiative combines Google’s Earth
300 markets across India (RML Global, 2017). An Engine with the Organization’s international expertise
estimated 5 million farmers have benefited. to address complex issues relating to forestry, land
cover and land use. The open source app allows even
E-commerce itself is an increasingly important a smallholder equipped with a smartphone to better
market mechanism. Per capita spending on Internet measure and monitor a piece of land no bigger than
retailing worldwide has doubled each year for the last an acre, in order to assess deforestation and forest
three years (Krishna, 2017). E-commerce presents degradation.
advantages to both consumers and sellers, as it
eliminates most intermediaries and helps reduce ICTs can also facilitate access to inputs and information
inventory. There are innumerable examples in India that are crucial for poor farmers to increase their
and China of applying e-commerce in agriculture – for production. E-vouchers for example, allow farmers to
example, through an online grocery portal that receives access inputs (seeds, fertilizer, etc.) using their mobile
 15

phones or electronic voucher cards. Instead of using

middlemen, farmers source inputs directly from 3.6 Farm registries
seeds producers and suppliers. In Zambia, the Farmer Registries serve as a mechanism for targeting and
Input Management Voucher System has successfully creating effective demand for government services.
addressed many of the challenges in distributing inputs The establishment of a farmer’s registry is now being
to smallholders, enabling real time monitoring of recognized as a way to establish legal recognition of
farming activities and facilitating reconciliations and farmers, thus removing barriers to access to several
payments for agro-dealers and suppliers. forms of social and financial benefits.
The registry can be used as a basic tool for agricultural
development and provision of agricultural services as
well as for social assistance programmes. It aims to
The FAO Collect Mobile app ensure a starting base for effective reach and coverage
Another good example of use of the OpenForis of targeted agricultural services and benefits, with
set of software tools is the Collect Mobile app in potential social protection/rural services benefits
Kazakhstan where over two million families earn a (health, crop insurance, basic income, old age pension,
living from milk production. Smallholders produce credits and others) for farmers and groups of farmers
approximately 80 percent of the national milk output. through a well-defined, established farmers’ registry
However, owing to long and complex value chains, within the Ministry of Agriculture.
milk producers and processors are often not in Examples of ICT use in registries include the Unique
contact with one another. Identification Number Project of the Government of
Using the FAO-borne Collect Mobile app, milk India (Sahu, 2011) and Brazil’s Unified Registry for
processors conduct field-based surveys to capture, Bolsa Familia (Ministerio do Desenolvimento Social,
validate and analyse data on milk availability. With 2018).
GPS-equipped Android devices, processors use the
app to geo-locate and manage this vast network of
milk suppliers. It also helps to optimize collection
routes in order to reduce transportation costs and
forecast capacity needs of cooling tanks and
Supporting farm registries in
refrigeration transport. Furthermore, Collect Mobile Lebanon
allows for direct interaction between processors and In the context of the Regional Initiative on Small-scale
farmers and enables dairy companies to provide Family Farming, FAO has worked with the Government
advice on various topics from improved hygiene to of Lebanon to establish a national farmers’ registry in
farm management. the governorates of Akkar and the Bekaa, to ensure
farmers’ and workers’ access to agriculture and social
services.
The system gathers information on farms and their
production, a Land Parcel Identification System,
cadastral maps, and land cover/land use maps. It also
includes socio-economic information on households
and workers.
FAO is also supporting the country in developing a
legislative and institutional framework for establishing
the registry on a national scale. This was a critical
first step to ensure access to agriculture and social
services, social security and assistance benefits for
farmers and rural workers.
©FAO/Sergey Kozmin
 16

3.7 Financial inclusion valuable time. It also contributes to the empowerment

of women and a positive shift in men-women
In many cases, smallholders lack access to formal relationships.
banking services. Village Savings and Loans CARE in East Africa is experimenting with connecting
Associations (VSLAs) allow them to save and its VSLAs to the formal banking system. Each
access credits. Saving and taking out loans facilitate association has a single account tied to a bank, which
investment and consumption smoothing. While can be tracked and managed via a mobile phone. The
VSLAs are both convenient and flexible, they are not advantages of these links and innovative use of ICTs are
as secure as larger formal institutions. ICTs can reduce that they provide access to additional products from
costs and address this issue. Transfers and payments, the bank, reduce the likelihood of theft or loss of the
credit, savings and insurance are examples of financial savings, and improve the management and accounting
services that are now offered through ICTs and of associations’ finances (AllAfrica, 2011).
innovative digital solutions.
M-Pesa (M for mobile and pesa for money in Swahili)
On the provider’s end, ICTs can significantly help by Safaricom Ltd is probably the best known mobile
improve rural communities’ access to such services by finance application. Highly successful in Kenya,
giving financial institutions the means to enter rural M-Pesa allows people from all around the country,
markets without the need for high-cost branches. On even in the most remote areas, to transfer money
the client’s end, mobile and smart phones can now be directly, saving considerable amounts of time and
used for receiving money and making payments and money. The service is now used by about 70 percent
access loans. Sending and receiving money through of the adult population of Kenya. Since its founding, it
mobile phones has the added advantage of avoiding the has expanded significantly into other services, such as
need and cost to visit the bank in person, saving savings, and new clients, such as businesses.
©FAO/Alioune Ndiaye
 17

3.8 Social protection 3.9 Sharing knowledge

programmes and innovation
Social protection is recognized as a critical strategy Not only do ICTs facilitate farmer-to-farmer exchange
for reducing poverty, building resilience and enabling but they can also help sharing knowledge at the global
development. Evidence from Latin America and sub- level. In 2007, in collaboration with 13 founding
Saharan Africa shows that it increases food security, partners, FAO launched the e-agriculture community
nutrition and human capital development, as well as of practice, a platform where people from all over the
productive and economic capacity of the poorest (FAO, world can exchange information, ideas and resources
2015a). related to the use of ICTs for sustainable agriculture
and rural development. With over 14,000 members
Access to predictable, sizeable and regular social
from 170 countries and territories, the e-Agriculture
protection benefits can, in the short term, protect poor
Community is made-up of individual stakeholders
households from the impacts of shocks, including
such as information and communication specialists,
erosion of productive assets, and can minimize
researchers, farmers, students, policy makers, business
negative coping practices. In the longer term, social
people, development practitioners, and others. Its
protection can help to build capacity, smoothing
members have a common interest: improving policies
consumption and allowing for investments that
and processes around the use of ICT in support of
contribute to building people’s resilience in the face of
agriculture and rural development, in order to have a
future threats and crises.
positive impact on rural livelihoods.
ICTs are increasingly used to leverage social protection
More recently, FAO, together with ITU, is leading a
programmes, increasing their scale and outreach. They
worldwide initiative to engage young innovators and
play an important role in modernizing social protection
entrepreneurs through hackathons and challenges:
systems, enhancing social services quality and equal
#HackAgainstHunger aims to develop ideas into
opportunity/fair access (Misuraca et al., 2017) by:
impact and to support young entrepreneurs by
> supporting the process of social services delivery incubating and accelerating innovative tech-driven
reform, given the potential opportunities for open solutions that contribute to ending hunger and food
collaboration and participation; insecurity. #HackAgainstHunger 2018 included
hackathons in the Caribbean, Egypt, Rwanda and
> digitalizing processes and improving the efficiency
Switzerland, bringing together private and public
of payment mechanisms, allowing for savings on
experts to guide hackers to identify practical
operational costs and benefit provision;
interventions and approaches to address challenges
> increasing intervention effectiveness and reducing around food and agriculture. Hackathons, accelerators,
social services fragmentation and duplication across hubs, labs all work as platforms for social change in
organizations and countries; the food and agriculture sector and contribute to
employment creation. Similarly, the FAO-ITU biennial
> making social services more proactive and closer
E-agriculture Solutions Forum brings together various
to the point of need, through effective identification
actors to facilitate knowledge sharing on the use of
and targeting of beneficiaries;
sustainable ICTs for agriculture.
> increasing accountability, and transforming
and extending the reach of service delivery to the
underserved.
Moreover, in the context of risk-informed and
shock-responsive social protection, ICTs can be a
powerful tool to support the effective linkages of early
warning systems and social protection management
information systems, and in this way deliver a response
before potential crises arise. Additionally, state-of-the-
art management and information systems enhance
transparency in terms of reaching beneficiaries before,
during and after specific shocks.
18

4. MAKING BETTER International organizations such as FAO play a special

role in the production and dissemination of this

USE OF ICTS TO knowledge. Since 2013, FAO has collaborated with

the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

ACHIEVE SDG 1 AND

to support countries in developing their national
E-agriculture strategies. The world’s first e-agriculture

SDG 2 IN RURAL
strategies were developed in Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
Since then, FAO and ITU have replicated the
AREAS experience in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Fiji
and Afghanistan and are now planning to scale up the
initiative at the global level. An E-agriculture Strategy
Guide (2016) was recently piloted in Asia Pacific
The benefits of ICTs should be made available
countries with the supported of partners, including
to all citizens of the world in order to facilitate
the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
communications and achieve more effective
Cooperation (CTA). The guide is an excellent starting
development. ICTs are a powerful means of
point for developing e-agriculture strategies that
implementing change for rural poverty reduction in the
support poverty and hunger eradication at national
speed and scale of uptake, reduced deployment costs,
levels in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
growth in public awareness and delivery of innovation
(Sachs et al., 2015). In order to leave no one behind, Nevertheless, while digital innovation, ICTs and
specific efforts will be required to bring the benefits of e-agriculture can contribute to rural poverty reduction,
ICTs to the poorest and most vulnerable. it is not a magic bullet either. They do not replace the
key elements of sustainable livelihoods in agriculture
In developed countries, the private sector engages in
and/or rural areas that the poor are often lacking, such
innovative ICT applications, providing commercial
as access to and ability to sustainably manage natural
services to their clients who have access to the Internet
resources; access to land, other assets and labour; and
and mobile devices. These companies have made
quality education and health.
significant investments in ICT services, leveraging on
economies of scale and their market share. Moreover, policies and strategies for agriculture and
rural development need to be accompanied by a
Through their ICT services they collect data on the
reversal of historic underinvestment in agriculture
farming practices of their clients, process and analyse
and rural areas. They require physical and institutional
it, and relay the results back to them, thus enhancing
infrastructure development, particularly at the village
production efficiency and in many cases providing
level; investment in quality health and education
wider benefits – such as preserving natural resources,
services; addressing of water and soil constraints;
as in the case of precision agriculture. The sale of
effective rural financial institutions, and social
innovative inputs and the provision of specific know-
protection programmes in place.
how to farmers through ICTs generate returns for these
companies, which often are protected by patents and
copyright.
But many aspects of agricultural information are public
goods. This has policy implications, and governments
play a role in its provision to ensure that it is not
undersupplied. For example, knowledge on how to
adapt to and mitigate the negative impacts of climate
change on agriculture is considered a global public
good. In recognition of this public good, governments
have affirmed the importance of education, training,
public awareness, public participation, public access to
information, and cooperation at all levels on the matters
related to climate change (UNFCCC, 2015).
 19

5. THE WAY The FAO Digital Innovation Unit seeks to create a

Digital Innovation Ecosystem, bringing together

FORWARD: UN experts, young entrepreneurs, public entities,

researchers, investors, and civil society organizations

PARTNERING FOR
to find innovative joint solutions that address the
global challenges in the food and agriculture sector.

DIGITAL INNOVATION
This ecosystem will drive digital innovation from
ideation to implementation to explore, test, and
In August 2017, FAO established the Digital scale new technology solutions and business. The
Innovation Unit with the mission to lead, coordinate Digital Innovation Ecosystem will consist of Digital
and promote FAO’s work on digital innovation for Innovation Labs, Incubators and Accelerators in less
rural development. From earth observation satellites developed countries and across the globe working
to mobile technology to block-chain and machine together as creative, collaborative and fast-paced
learning, the Digital Innovation Unit is embracing environments to foster entrepreneurship, sustainability
innovation to complement FAO long history of and scalability.
compiling on-the-ground information. Sustainable and FAO has also launched a Digital Innovation Programme
responsible innovation is never a stand-alone activity, to eliminate the barriers to adoption of digital
but rather a process involving different actors to find innovations and promote open innovation and digital
joint solutions to shared global challenges. FAO’s inclusion in rural areas. FAO’s extensive knowledge,
approach relies on new partnerships with the private field expertise, and wide-ranging networks are leveraged
sector, civil society and academia to source ideas from to support the development of digital innovations that
across the world, leveraging combined expertise. address global challenges to food and agriculture.

Figure 4. FAO Digital Innovation Model

Global products
and services

FAO
Incubation digital Partner
and innovation executors
acceleration

Local innovation
20

This will unlock new market opportunities and deliver

significant socio-economic benefits to transform
livelihoods of the rural poor, with positive impact on FAO’s priorities
poverty reduction, job creation, and food security. The
programme will focus on rural households, youth and > Provide support to countries in the development
self-employed entrepreneurs, in particular female- and implementation of their e-agriculture policies
headed households and businesses. Starting in Africa and strategies with a focus on equality of access,
and Latin America, and combining a global and inclusiveness, rural women’s economic empowerment,
country specific approaches, the programme works to: and rural employment creation for youth.

Scale up digital innovation that directly contributes > Support the establishment of broader digital
to poverty reduction and job creation by innovating innovation programme for rural areas, associated
all current flagship and system solutions to ensure with targeted interventions to give equal access to the
coverage, impact, sustainability and replicability poorest.
of successful development initiatives. This process > Develop open solutions to make its knowledge and
also involves strengthening national capacities and databases available to all categories of users, in a
improvements of global, national and local policies to format adapted to their needs and making best use of
ensure their long-term sustainability and impact. the wide range of existing ICTs.
Promote local innovation and youth entrepreneurship, > Support national and local administrations in
through partnerships aimed at strengthening local level establishing an ICT culture in rural regions, and in
capacity to innovate in the food and agriculture sector. guaranteeing information and communication rights
This includes initiatives such as #HackAgainstHunger for all categories of rural populations.
that provides young developers and entrepreneurs
with promising solutions with expert mentorship from > Provide capacity development programmes and
public and private sector experts. activities using innovative methodologies to improve
human skills and facilitate knowledge exchange and
Develop new digital services to empower rural mutual learning among communities with similar needs
smallholders, such as family farmers, fishers, to improve the use of digital services.
pastoralists, and forest-dwellers with localized,
real-time advisory services and increasing national > Spread technology to the benefit of the youth across
government capacity to collect, process, and Africa, Asia and Latin America and boost investment
disseminate data and information. by creating the enabling environment for innovation
and entrepreneurship.
Promote innovative multi-stakeholder partnerships
to identify breakthrough solutions to joint global > Develop specific content and capacity development
challenges leveraging diverse expertise, experience, for women and increase their participation in the
and knowledge to strengthen country-level and global development of tools to ensuring equity in access to
interventions. Frontier thinking and new technologies ICTs.
offer opportunities to disrupt traditional processes > Help national and local actors develop context-
and to spark rapid digital transformation to achieve specific applications using traditional and new
the SDGs. Investing in the exploration of cutting- technologies that are adapted to the needs of poorer,
edge technologies for use in low- an middle-income more vulnerable households that are multilingual,
countries is a critical path to improving livelihoods of multimodal, and integrate language interaction and
the rural poor. visualization technologies, and that can be used where
no continuous and high-speed Internet connection is
available.
> Support innovation in the use of ICTs to build
resilience and respond to emergencies affecting poor
rural households and build capacity to prepare and
respond to both natural and man-made disasters.
 21

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