The present report is the outcome of the joint call on good practices on Digital Excellence in Agriculture, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Office for Europe and Office for CIS and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Office for Europe and Central Asia. The document presents a summary version of the 171 eligible submissions of good practices and innovative solutions advancing the digital transformation of agriculture in Europe and Central Asia. This call complements the joint FAO-ITU review on the Status of Digital Agriculture in 18 countries of Europe and Central Asia (ITU-FAO, 2020)1 and provides evidence on how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an emerging role in the agriculture landscapes of the regions, acting as an engine for agricultural development. However, the adoption of digital technologies in agriculture differs from country to country, and from region to region. The review in the 18 countries highlighted that smallholder farmers have yet to experience the widespread benefits of this digital transformation, and they are lagging behind when it comes to the adoption of digital agriculture solutions and innovations due to lack of trust in the potential of ICTs, limited digital skills, connectivity issues and restricted availability of ICT-based solutions to utilize and scale up. Realizing the full potential of digital agriculture transformation requires identifying, sharing and implementing best practices and proven solutions across countries, involving all actors in participatory processes.

This report is the outcome of the Digital Excellence in Agriculture: FAO-ITU regional contest on good practices advancing digital agriculture in Europe and Central Asia, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Office for Europe and Central Asia and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Offices for Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Launched in November 2020, the contest sought to identify, showcase and celebrate good practices and innovative solutions that have proven successful in advancing the digital transformation of agriculture in the regions. With nearly 200 applicants from 36 countries in the regions, the initiative revealed a diverse, dynamic and future-thinking ecosystem of innovators and problem-solvers. This report summarizes the main trends in digital services and products, the most important technologies used, as well as the difficulties and challenges that arise in the development of digital agricultural applications. Presenting the 29 finalists, the report shares the key challenges applicants are addressing, the digital technologies they are using to succeed, their journeys and their plans for the near future based on the information provided. The report also analyses how the technology infrastructure, the regulatory and business environment, the availability of human capital, and the COVID-19 pandemic represented both challenges and opportunities for digital agriculture practitioners. It provides useful information for developers and service providers already active in this field or planning to enter it, as well as guidance for decision-makers on possible points of intervention.

FAO’s work in Europe and Central Asia and throughout the world is guided by the FAO Strategic Framework, reviewed every four years. In its support for the 2030 Agenda and its drive for a transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031 focuses on what are called the four betters – a set of goals that, when implemented, will help ensure that no one is left behind. In each of the FAO programme countries and territories in Europe and Central Asia, the Organization and its many partners achieved great success in 2021 in advancing towards the four betters – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. This report provides a snapshot of these important efforts and achievements.

This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of biosystems engineering, as presented at the 12th Conference of the Italian Association of Agricultural Engineering (AIIA), held in Palermo, Italy, on September 19-22, 2022. Focusing on the challenges of improving the resilience of agriculture, forestry and food systems in the post-Covid era, it shows how the research has addressed the following topics: Monitoring and modelling hydraulic and hydrological processes in agriculture and forestry systems; Challenges in stream rehabilitation and soil conservation strategies; Sustainable water resource management under climate change scenarios; Planning safe, healthy and resilient territorial, built and green systems; Cultural heritage preservation and rural landscape protection, planning and management; Plant and livestock production processes and technologies. Healthy and Organic farming. Animal welfare; Energy, waste and by-products smart use; Post-harvest logistics and food chain structures technology; Applications and experiences in smart agriculture and forestry; One Health, management and standardization for agriculture and forestry machinery and structures; Big data, machine learning and data hub in biosystems engineering. The contributions were selected by a rigorous peer-review process, and offer an extensive and multidisciplinary overview of the research in the field of biosystems engineering for sustainable agriculture.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

The book comprises high-quality refereed research papers presented at the Second International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Logistics Engineering (ICAILE2022), held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 20–22, 2022, organized jointly by the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute," Wuhan University of Technology, Nanning University, National Aviation University, and the International Research Association of Modern Education and Computer Science. The topics discussed in the book include state-of-the-art papers in artificial intelligence and logistics engineering. It is an excellent source of references for researchers, graduate students, engineers, management practitioners, and undergraduate students interested in artificial intelligence and its applications in logistics engineering.

Digital agriculture has the potential to contribute to a more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable agriculture and meet the agricultural goals of a country or a region more effectively, and both ICTs and agriculture are important enablers in achieving SDGs. Most stakeholders have long recognized the need for national e-agricultural strategies. Nevertheless, most of the countries have not yet implemented a national strategy for the agricultural sector's use of ICTs. ITU Offices for Europe and CIS regions in collaboration with FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia developed this report on state of Digital Agriculture and Strategies developed in 18 countries. The emerging role of ICTs in Europe and CIS region is clearly observed and experienced as an engine for agricultural development, especially in view of the growing demand for reliable information and its quick access at all levels of the industry. The state of the digital agriculture ecosystem differs from country to country and is also fragmented by the regions, within the individual countries. There is an overwhelming wave of innovation in this area where a digital agriculture strategy can be helpful in finding the right path.

This report aims to identify the different scenarios where the process of digital transformation is taking place in agriculture. This identifies those aspects of basic conditions, such as those of infrastructure and networks, affordability, education and institutional support. In addition, enablers are identified, which are the factors that allow adopting and integrating changes in the production and decision-making processes. Finally identify through cases, existing literature and reports how substantive changes are taking place in the adoption of digital technologies in agriculture.

With the emergence of smart technology and automated systems in today’s world, big data is being incorporated into many applications. Trends in data can be detected and objects can be tracked based on the real-time data that is utilized in everyday life. These connected sensor devices and objects will provide a large amount of data that is to be analyzed quickly, as it can accelerate the transformation of smart technology. The accuracy of prediction of artificial intelligence (AI) systems is drastically increasing by using machine learning and other probability and statistical approaches. Big data and geospatial data help to solve complex issues and play a vital role in future applications. Emerging Trends, Techniques, and Applications in Geospatial Data Science provides an overview of the basic concepts of data science, related tools and technologies, and algorithms for managing the relevant challenges in real-time application domains. The book covers a detailed description for readers with practical ideas using AI, the internet of things (IoT), and machine learning to deal with the analysis, modeling, and predictions from big data. Covering topics such as field spectra, high-resolution sensing imagery, and spatiotemporal data engineering, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for data scientists, computer and IT professionals, managers, mathematicians and statisticians, health professionals, technology developers, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

The feasibility study looks into the e-commerce ecosystem for agricultural products (D2C model) and examines the feasibility of developing a dedicated e-commerce platform for Moldovan farmers, including returning migrants engaged in agri-business. It also focusses on identifying the opportunities, optimal scenarios and interventions, as well as the premises needed to either launch a new e-commerce platform, or develop and upscale an existent one.