Agricultural Services and Digital Inclusion in Africa
Description
Discover and organize the best content in open and accessible repositories using the best and most suitable technologies, ensuring these FAO resources are available, timely, consistent, accurate, scalable and interoperable.Develop, implement and improve advisory and transactional services in and for the field, delivering knowledge, training and support to the extension teams (the last mile agents) or directly to the family farmers.Outreach, disseminate and create engagement for the services in each country, beneficiary and service, including development of online platforms and a media strategy but also tools able to engage farmers and extension agents in digital communities, in addition to promoting the mobile solutions in dissemination channels, like app stores.
In collaboration with the national governments, local and strategic partners, the main idea of this initiative is to offer, in near real time, a portfolio of these initial four mobile applications, providing services that support concrete daily needs of the farmers in an easy, hassle free and customisable way. Based on the knowledge gathered by FAO and local policies, the package of solutions will be delivered to ensure quality information and technical advisory services, using complementary and incremental approach between each one.FAO, strategic and local partners will support the development of mobile devices and ICT applications, broadcasting content, and literacy to deliver quality information about food production, nutrition, health, natural disasters and financial services inclusion and access to commercialisation market and agricultural credit for women farmers from Rwanda and Senegal.The capacity development will organise at least two workshops, use local radio programs in community broadcasting stations and other ways to communicate, inform and engage farmers, extension workers and rural leaders highlighting the benefits of the services and promote the apps.o CIO collaborates with ESN, FAORW and FAOSN to develop the app.· o CIO collaborates with NRC, FAORW and FAOSN to develop the app.· o CIO collaborate with EST, FAORW and FAOSN to develop the app.
Connection and mobile devices, combined with useful digital content, make a difference at the time of seeding or when planning the next harvest as well as animal husbandry. FAO, strategic and local partners will support the development of ICT applications, broadcasting content, and literacy to deliver quality information rural households in Rwanda and Senegal.In collaboration with the national governments, local and strategic partners, the main idea of this initiative is to offer, in near real time, a portfolio of these four initial mobile applications providing services that support concrete daily needs of poor households in an easy, hassle free and customisable way. Based on the knowledge gathered by FAO and local policies, the package of software solutions will be delivered to ensure quality information and technical advisory services, using complementary and incremental approach between each one. The group of applications will be validated by the local communities and producers to receive suggestions for improvements of the portfolio.Goals of this project have continued progression, having a global nature, bringing together a large multi-stakeholder community using digital communication tools and platforms. It tries to do business in a different way, addressing global challenges and creating inclusive business models, leveraging the potential of digital innovations allowing a quick and challenging enhancements. It’s about finding new scalable solutions to global issues, harnessing multi-stakeholder participation of governments, UN agencies, the private sector and civil society using the power of the internet to share knowledge.The proposed model and the strategy to implement these digital services ranging from basic information to more sophisticated services. They require intense consultation and articulation among the various partners starting with the national and regional governments to trained community leaders and extension workers supporting closer extension services for small farmers as well as professionals from private areas of telecommunications and internet.The project is in line and coordinated with national and priority programs in Rwanda and Senegal, FAO is addressing these challenges / problems with the coordination and support of local businesses of telecommunications and Internet access providers, launching digital services directly addressed for smallholder farmers, small scale agro-enterprises, subsistence farmers, and consumers groups in rural/Peri-urban areas. Communication through basic audiovisual aids (descriptive images, videos and audio in mobile formats) in local languages will reduce the communication time and gap between key players in the field.
SDGS & Targets
Goal 15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

15.1
By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
15.1.1
15.1.2
15.2
By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
15.2.1
15.3
By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world
15.3.1
15.4
By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development
15.4.1
15.4.2
15.5
Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
15.5.1
15.6
Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed
15.6.1
15.7
Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products
15.7.1
15.8
By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species
15.8.1
15.9
By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
15.9.1
(a) Number of countries that have established national targets in accordance with or similar to Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 in their national biodiversity strategy and action plans and the progress reported towards these targets; and (b) integration of biodiversity into national accounting and reporting systems, defined as implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting
15.a
Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
15.a.1
(a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments
15.b
Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation
15.b.1
(a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments
15.c
Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities
15.c.1
Goal 9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

9.1
9.1.1
Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road
9.1.2
Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport
9.2
Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
9.2.1
Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita
9.2.2
Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment
9.3
9.3.1
Proportion of small-scale industries in total industry value added
9.3.2
Proportion of small-scale industries with a loan or line of credit
9.4
By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
9.4.1
CO2 emission per unit of value added
9.5
9.5.1
Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP
9.5.2
Researchers (in full-time equivalent) per million inhabitants
9.a
9.a.1
Total official international support (official development assistance plus other official flows) to infrastructure
9.b
9.b.1
Proportion of medium and high-tech industry value added in total value added
9.c
Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
9.c.1
Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology
Goal 2
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

2.1
By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2.1.1
Prevalence of undernourishment
2.1.2
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
2.2
By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
2.2.1
Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
2.2.2
Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight)
2.2.3
Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage)
2.3
2.3.1
Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size
2.3.2
Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status
2.4
By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
2.4.1
Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
2.5
By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed
2.5.1
Number of (a) plant and (b) animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium- or long-term conservation facilities
2.5.2
Proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk of extinction
2.a
2.a.1
The agriculture orientation index for government expenditures
2.a.2
Total official flows (official development assistance plus other official flows) to the agriculture sector
2.b
Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round
2.b.1
Agricultural export subsidies
2.c
Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility
2.c.1
Indicator of food price anomalies
Goal 17
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

17.1
Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.1.1
17.1.2
17.2
Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
17.2.1
17.3
Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.1
Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.2
17.4
Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
17.4.1
17.5
Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
17.5.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries
17.6
Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.6.1
Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed
17.7
Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.7.1
Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
17.8
Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.8.1
17.9
Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.9.1
Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries
17.10
Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
17.10.1
17.11
Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.11.1
Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports
17.12
Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access
17.12.1
Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States
17.13
Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
17.13.1
17.14
Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.14.1
17.15
Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development
17.15.1
17.16
Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.16.1
Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
17.17
Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.17.1
Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
17.18
By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.18.1
Statistical capacity indicators
17.18.2
17.18.3
Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding
17.19
By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries
17.19.1
17.19.2
Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration
Goal 12
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

12.1
Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
12.1.1
Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production
12.2
By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.2.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
12.2.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
12.3
By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
12.3.1
(a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index
12.4
By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.4.1
12.4.2
(a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment
12.5
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.5.1
National recycling rate, tons of material recycled
12.6
Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
12.6.1
12.7
Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
12.7.1
Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans
12.8
By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
12.8.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
12.a
Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
12.a.1
Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing and developed countries (in watts per capita)
12.b
Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
12.b.1
Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability
12.c
Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
12.c.1
Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP
SDG 14 targets covered
Deliverables & Timeline
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
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Contact Information
James Azevedo Görgen, Policies Manager