Wikipedia
E-agriculture (sometimes written eagriculture or referred to as ICT in agriculture) is a relatively recent term in the field of agriculture and rural development practices. Consistency in the use of this term began to materialize with the dissemination of results from a global survey carried out by the United Nations (UN). This survey conducted in late 2006 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found that half of those who replied identified “e agriculture” with information dissemination, access and exchange, communication and participation processes improvements around rural development. In contrast, less than a third highlighted the importance of technical hardware and technological tools.
E-agriculture, therefore, describes an emerging field focused on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. More specifically, e-agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the rural domain, with a primary focus on agriculture.
In 2008, the United Nations referred to e-agriculture as "an emerging field", with the expectation that its scope would change and evolve as our understanding of the area grows.
Many ICT in agriculture or e-agriculture interventions have been developed and tested around the world, with varied degrees of success, to help agriculturists improve their livelihoods through increased agricultural productivity and incomes, and reduction in risks. Some useful resources for learning about e-agriculture in practice are the World Bank’s e-sourcebook ICT in agriculture – connecting smallholder farmers to knowledge, networks and institutions (2011), ICT uses for inclusive value chains (2013), ICT uses for inclusive value chains (2013) and Success stories on information and communication technologies for agriculture and rural development have documented many cases of use of ICT in agriculture.
The FAO- ITU E-agriculture Strategy Guide provides a framework to holistically address the ICT opportunities and challenges for the agricultural sector in a more efficient manner while generating new revenue streams and improve the livelihoods of the rural community as well as ensure the goals of the national agriculture master plan are achieved.The existence of e-agriculture strategy and its alignment with other government plans will prevent e-agriculture projects and services from being implemented in isolation.
The FAO-ITU E-agriculture Strategy Guide was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with support from partners including the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) as a framework for countries in developing their national e-agriculture strategy/masterplan.
Some of the countries who are using the FAO-ITU E-agriculture Strategy Guide to develop their national e-agriculture strategy are Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Fiji and Vanuatu. The guide provides a framework to engage a broader stakeholders in the development of national e-agriculture strategy.