E-agriculture (sometimes written eagriculture) is a relatively recent term in the field of agriculture and rural development practices. Consistency in the use of this term began to materialize with the dissemination of results from a global survey carried out by the United Nations (UN). This survey conducted in late 2006 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found that half of those who replied identified “e agriculture” with information dissemination, access and exchange, communication and participation processes improvements around rural development. In contrast, less than a third highlighted the importance of technical hardware and technological tools.
E-agriculture, therefore, describes an emerging field focused on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. More specifically, e-agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the rural domain, with a primary focus on agriculture.[1]
The UN states that e-agriculture is a relatively new term and that fully expect its scope to change and evolve as our understanding of the area grows.
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In August 2003, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) joined together in a collaborative research project to look at bringing together livelihoods thinking with concepts from information and communication for development, in order to improve understanding of the role and importance of information and communication in support of rural livelihoods.[2]
The policy recommendations included:
e-agriculture is one of the action lines identified in the declaration and plan of action (2003) of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).[3] The "Tunis Agenda for the Information Society," published on 18 November 2005, emphasizes the leading facilitating roles that UN agencies need to play in the implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action.[4]
FAO hosted the first e-Agriculture workshop in June 2006, bringing together representatives of leading development organizations involved in agriculture. The meeting served to initiate development of an effective process to engage as wide a range of stakeholders involved in e-Agriculture, and resulted in the formation of an e-Agriculture Community of Practice Founding Group.Members include Members include: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CTA); UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA); FAO; Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ); Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR); Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA); International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD); International Centre for Communication for Development (IICD); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); International Telecommunications Union (ITU); World Bank.