e-Agriculture

The term e-agriculture refers to three things. It may mean the use of electronic media to promote and support agricultural programs, projects, and activities. An example is the harnessing of radio or television to disseminate innovation or support capacity development programs of national agriculture agencies. The term e-agriculture is also used in reference to a movement within the international agricultural sector that advocates the use of information and communication technology for agricultural production, marketing, and advocacy. Part of this movement champions mobile phones and texting services for agricultural market information and crop decision support systems as well as food policy advocacy. Additionally, e-agriculture refers to a global organization, a community of practice, engaged in the sharing and reuse of best practices and lessons learned using digital communication applications for agriculture via an established online platform administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. This entry introduces these various developments that are associated with the term e-agriculture.