How AI can improve agriculture for better food security
ITU News – Roughly half of the 821 million people considered hungry by the United Nations are those who dedicate their lives to producing food for others: farmers.
This is largely attributed to the vulnerability of farmers to agricultural risks, such as extreme weather, conflict, and market shocks.
Smallholder farmers, who produce some 60-70% of the world’s food, are particularly vulnerable to risks and food insecurity.
Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), however, have been particularly promising in tackling challenges such as lack of expertise, climate change, resource optimization and consumer trust.
AI assistance can, for instance, enable smallholder farmers in Africa to more effectively address scourges such as viruses and the fall armyworm that have plagued the region over the last 40 years despite extensive investment, said David Hughes, Co-Founder of PlantVillage and Assistant Professor at Penn State University at a session on AI for Agriculture at last week’s AI for Good Global Summit. more>
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