Can artificial intelligence really help solve global crop loss?
Up to 40% of the world’s crops are currently lost to pests. There is an urgent need for evidence to help prioritise research into minimising these losses, writes Gaby Oliver, Project Assistant on the Global Burden of Crop Loss project.
Helping communities adapt to the impacts of climate change
To mark Earth Day on 22nd April, we’ve highlighted three of our stories on agriculture and climate change from the past year. The world is witnessing growing incidents of the new “normal” caused by global warming. No longer regarded as a future challenge to be faced in the next few decades, climate disruption is…
World Food Day: How can data science and modelling help smallholders adapt to climate change?
Data science and modelling are relatively new concepts when it comes to farming. For centuries, smallholders have carefully passed down agricultural skills from generation to generation. They depended on this knowledge. And stable seasons and weather meant this information remained relevant for years.
Stakeholders say Global Burden of Crop Loss would help direct future agricultural policy and practice
Key stakeholders of the Global Burden of Crop Loss (GBCL) have said that the initiative would help direct future agricultural policy and practice, as it looks to bridge the gaps in data on crop losses that impact upon global food security. According to estimates compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), we need to…
Digital climate advisory services – an investment case for equity
The need for climate adaptation Smallholder farmers are facing increasing impacts from droughts, floods, heatwaves and wildfires, as well as crop pests and diseases, being driven by climate change. And these issues are only projected to get worse as our world warms over the coming years. Smallholders are the backbone of our global food supply.…
Measuring the value of improving data access and governance in Gates Foundation programmes and projects
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation addresses many important global issues. One of the foundation’s core areas of focus is data, including data access and data sharing in agriculture. Agricultural data is important as it can help to address issues of international concern such as reducing hunger and poverty as called for by the Sustainable…
Data and farming innovations aid crop pest risk prediction and management in low income countries
Novel Solutions in the form of pest risk alert systems now present a unique opportunity for low income countries to better predict, prevent and manage pests that are estimated to cause between 20%-40% crop losses annually, threatening the food security of millions. This has been highlighted in a United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021…
Bundling agricultural services under the Seeing is Believing project in India
The Seeing is Believing (SIB) project started in Tamil Nadu (a southern state in India) in May 2019 in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), writes Akanksha Nagpal and Arun Jadhav.
A range of incentives could help open up free access to FAIR data in agriculture
Access to data on soil health, agronomy and fertilizer based upon FAIR could be a ‘game changer’ in helping to create greater food security within Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia who are already battling with the impacts of climate change, crop pests and diseases, writes Ruthie Musker, Project Officer – Data Policy & Practice at…
Data sharing standards for soil: Why aren’t they taking root?
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has put food security squarely on the global agenda. Combined with the existing challenges that climate change brings to agriculture and agroecology, the production of ample and nutritious food is now under threat as farmers struggle with social distancing and income loss – writes Ruthie Musker, Project Officer –…
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