Agriculture the Way to Food Security
Is E-Agriculture the way to ensure world food security?
Forum: GA2 Agriculture Committee
Issue: Is E-Agriculture the way to ensure world food security?
Student officer: Mehmet Deniz Yalcin
General Overview
Information and communication have always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. What is the most effective planting strategy on steep slopes? Where can I buy the improved seed or feed this year? How can I acquire a land title? Who is paying the highest price at the market? How can I participate in the government’s credit program? Producers rarely find it easy to obtain answers to such questions, even if similar ones arise season after season. Farmers in a village may have planted the “same” crop for centuries, but over time, weather patterns and soil conditions change and epidemics of pests and diseases come and go. Updated information allows the farmers to cope with and even benefit from these changes. Providing such knowledge can be challenging, however, because the highly localized nature of agriculture means that information must be tailored specifically to distinct conditions.
ICTs in agriculture/E-Agriculture
Agriculture is facing new and severe challenges in its own right. With rising food prices that have pushed over 40 million people into poverty since 2010, more effective interventions are essential in agriculture (World Bank 2011). The growing global population, expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, has heightened the demand for food and placed pressure on already-fragile resources. Feeding that population will require a 70 percent increase in food production (FAO
2009). Given the challenges, the arrival of information communication technology (ICT) is well timed. But what exactly are ICTs? And can they really be useful and cost-effective for poor farmers with restricted access to capital, electricity, and infrastructure?
First, an ICT is any device,
Forum: GA2 Agriculture Committee
Issue: Is E-Agriculture the way to ensure world food security?
Student officer: Mehmet Deniz Yalcin
General Overview
Information and communication have always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. What is the most effective planting strategy on steep slopes? Where can I buy the improved seed or feed this year? How can I acquire a land title? Who is paying the highest price at the market? How can I participate in the government’s credit program? Producers rarely find it easy to obtain answers to such questions, even if similar ones arise season after season. Farmers in a village may have planted the “same” crop for centuries, but over time, weather patterns and soil conditions change and epidemics of pests and diseases come and go. Updated information allows the farmers to cope with and even benefit from these changes. Providing such knowledge can be challenging, however, because the highly localized nature of agriculture means that information must be tailored specifically to distinct conditions.
ICTs in agriculture/E-Agriculture
Agriculture is facing new and severe challenges in its own right. With rising food prices that have pushed over 40 million people into poverty since 2010, more effective interventions are essential in agriculture (World Bank 2011). The growing global population, expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, has heightened the demand for food and placed pressure on already-fragile resources. Feeding that population will require a 70 percent increase in food production (FAO
2009). Given the challenges, the arrival of information communication technology (ICT) is well timed. But what exactly are ICTs? And can they really be useful and cost-effective for poor farmers with restricted access to capital, electricity, and infrastructure?
First, an ICT is any device,
Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICT_in_agriculture http://www.rfidnews.org/2009/04/06/malaysia-begins-rfid-enabled-livestock-tracking-program http://www.e-agriculture.org/ http://www.ictinagriculture.org/ictinag/sourcebook/module-1-introduction-ict-agriculturaldevelopment http://www.fao.org/index_en.htm