Digital extension – a hot topic for 2019
Digital tools are fostering a new revolution in agriculture, opening new possibilities for how farmers monitor their fields, record information and make decisions. For extension workers as well, it is a revolution. Sensors, models, applications are new options for them to enrich their toolbox and make their services more appealing. Some feel threathened by those new technologies as they believe they might replace them. But elsewhere, extension services are totally absent, and in those cases, “virtual extension agents” could be very much welcome…
So what do digital tools really mean for extension in agriculture ? What does it take to implement a digital extension strategy ?
This year, the Data Driven Agronomy Community of Practice (CoP) of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture chose digital extension as its topic of the year. The idea is to review the different aspects and challenges associated with the implementation of a digital extension strategy.
This webinar is intended to kick-start this new debate by walking participants through three of the most exciting/groundbreaking CGIAR initiatives. Guest speakers from CIMMYT, ICRISAT and IRRI will present and discuss how they are engaging with digital extension and share their perspectives and lessons learned for this emerging sector.
