ICTC Horizon Conference: The role of technology in building sustainability and food security

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BY PAUL STASTNY

With global stresses rising on food and agriculture from climate change, pandemic effects, conflicts, and other problems, what role can technology play in building more sustainable practices? This was one focus of a Feb. 2 panel discussion at ICTC Horizon—the two-day virtual summit of Canada’s Information and Communications Technology Council.

A Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security panel, including Claudia Ringler, Deputy Director of IFPRI’s Environment and Production Technology Division, examined the ecological footprint of food production, spurring a lively discussion of the role of digital technologies and the broader implications for government policy, standards, and the realities developing countries face.

“Ag tech and food policy don’t really sound like they go together, but they certainly do because we know that technology is a key engine and pathway to achieving food security and reducing malnutrition levels in developing countries,” Ringler said.

Digital technologies have the potential to improve agriculture productivity, Ringler said, but added that low-income countries face more acute challenges to ag-tech adoption than developed countries.

Photo credit: Jeffery M. Walcott/IWMI

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