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Book (series)Technical studyLeveraging automation and digitalization for precision agriculture: Evidence from the case studies
Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2022
2022Also available in:
No results found.Digital and automation solutions for precision agriculture can improve efficiency, productivity, product quality and sustainability. Nevertheless, barriers to adoption of such solutions – including their cost, lack of knowledge and skills, and the absence of an enabling environment and infrastructure – can prevent producers from realizing these benefits. Building on findings from 22 case studies worldwide, this study finds that national data policies and infrastructure are key enablers of adoption, as is investment in connectivity (e.g. internet) and electricity in rural areas. Further research and information on the economic, environmental and social impacts of the solutions are also needed to provide evidence on their benefits. So too is investment in human capacity development, particularly digital literacy. To ensure an inclusive process, solutions must be adapted across agricultural production systems, regions and farm types. Partnerships and networks for exchanging information and promoting collaboration will key. Finally, awareness raising and communication are important since consumers can be skeptical about food being produced by new technologies. In summary, by focusing on a variety of solutions, this study provides a landscape analysis of digital and automation solutions and offers guidance to accelerate adoption for more inclusive, sustainable and resilient agrifood systems. -
Policy briefPolicy briefTransforming agriculture with digital automation 2022
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No results found.The adoption of digital automation technologies in agriculture has been slow despite its potential to enhance the precision of agricultural operations, improve working conditions, and address environmental challenges, while building resilience to shocks and stresses. Most technologies are still relatively new and costly, especially for low- and middle-income countries, where poor connectivity and energy supply, and limited human capacity further hinder adoption. Incentivizing uptake requires creating a conducive business environment and suiting technologies to local conditions, especially for small-scale agriculture. -
Policy briefPolicy briefEnabling inclusive agricultural automation 2022
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No results found.Agricultural automation reshapes the labour market. In situations of rising wages and labour scarcity, agricultural automation can stimulate employment by allowing producers to expand production and by creating jobs along agrifood systems. Conversely, when labour is plentiful and subsidies lower the cost of automation, there is a risk of job displacement and unemployment, especially for poor and low-skilled workers. Governments should neither subsidize automation, nor restrict it. Instead, they should create an enabling environment for an inclusive process of agricultural automation that ensures access by marginalized groups such as women and small-scale producers, and focuses on building the knowledge and skills of the agricultural workforce to facilitate the transition to new jobs within and outside agriculture.
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BookletCorporate general interestEmissions due to agriculture
Global, regional and country trends 2000–2018
2021Also available in:
No results found.The FAOSTAT emissions database is composed of several data domains covering the categories of the IPCC Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector of the national GHG inventory. Energy use in agriculture is additionally included as relevant to emissions from agriculture as an economic production sector under the ISIC A statistical classification, though recognizing that, in terms of IPCC, they are instead part of the Energy sector of the national GHG inventory. FAO emissions estimates are available over the period 1961–2018 for agriculture production processes from crop and livestock activities. Land use emissions and removals are generally available only for the period 1990–2019. This analytical brief focuses on overall trends over the period 2000–2018. -
Book (stand-alone)Technical bookClimate change and food security: risks and responses 2015
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End hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition are at the heart of the sustainable development goals. The World has committed to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2030. But climate change is undermining the livelihoods and food security of the rural poor, who constitute almost 80 percent of the world’s poor. The effects of climate change on our ecosystems are already severe and widespread. Climate change brings a cascade of impacts from agroecosystems to livelihoods. Climate change impacts directly agroecosystems, which in turn has a potential impact on agricultural production, which drives economic and social impacts, which impact livelihoods. In other words, impacts translate from climate to the environment, to the productive sphere, to economic and social dimensions. Therefore, ensuring food security in the face of climate change is among the most daunting challenges facing humankind. Action is urgently needed now to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience of food systems to ensure food security and good nutrition for all. -
Book (series)FlagshipThe State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021
Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all
2021In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures. This report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes new estimates of the cost and affordability of healthy diets, which provide an important link between the food security and nutrition indicators and the analysis of their trends. Altogether, the report highlights the need for a deeper reflection on how to better address the global food security and nutrition situation.To understand how hunger and malnutrition have reached these critical levels, this report draws on the analyses of the past four editions, which have produced a vast, evidence-based body of knowledge of the major drivers behind the recent changes in food security and nutrition. These drivers, which are increasing in frequency and intensity, include conflicts, climate variability and extremes, and economic slowdowns and downturns – all exacerbated by the underlying causes of poverty and very high and persistent levels of inequality. In addition, millions of people around the world suffer from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition because they cannot afford the cost of healthy diets. From a synthesized understanding of this knowledge, updates and additional analyses are generated to create a holistic view of the combined effects of these drivers, both on each other and on food systems, and how they negatively affect food security and nutrition around the world.In turn, the evidence informs an in-depth look at how to move from silo solutions to integrated food systems solutions. In this regard, the report proposes transformative pathways that specifically address the challenges posed by the major drivers, also highlighting the types of policy and investment portfolios required to transform food systems for food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all. The report observes that, while the pandemic has caused major setbacks, there is much to be learned from the vulnerabilities and inequalities it has laid bare. If taken to heart, these new insights and wisdom can help get the world back on track towards the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms.