This 14-page report traces patterns revealed through a global online survey conducted as a follow-up to the November 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, Tunisia. This research was carried out based on the growing agreement (highlighted through the WSIS and other global platforms) that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can have an impact on sustainable development - and, in particular - agriculture. In this context, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was given the responsibility for facilitating the Action Line on e-agriculture in the WSIS Plan of Action, and this report is part of that process.

In brief, FAO hosted the first of several e-agriculture workshops in June 2006 to bring together representatives of leading development organisations involved in agriculture; the aim was to outline a process for determining further action to implement e-agriculture effectively around the world. The e-Agriculture Working Group (EAWG) that emerged from this meeting then designed a survey (in 3 languages: English, French, and Spanish) to accomplish the following: gauging stakeholders' familiarity with e-agriculture and definitions for the term; benefits and challenges of e-agriculture; and priorities to be addressed in an international forum. More than 4,000 people from 135 countries visited the survey website, of which more than 3,400 responded to the survey, which was carried out from October 1 - November 15 2006.

The report detailing the findings of this research indicates that a majority (57%) were unaware of the term "e-agriculture". In Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America, response levels indicating that people are not familiar with e-agriculture were the highest, at 63% and 61%, respectively. The Near East had the lowest proportions of negative answers at 46%, with Africa and Asia-Pacific at 48%. The French and Spanish translations of the term "e-agriculture" in the survey were those used in WSIS, namely "cyberagriculture" and "cyberagricultura", respectively. Analysis of the survey responses indicated that the proportion who stated they were not familiar with the term in their language was 44% for English, 66% for French, and 66% for Spanish.

Here is a synopsis of selected data included in other parts of the document:

• With regard to how "e-agriculture" is defined, there were few clear trends, but researchers note that almost half of stakeholders working in agriculture identified e-agriculture with either a) improvements in processes such as information dissemination, access, and exchange and/or b) communication, participation, and network/community-building activities amongst rural stakeholders. In contrast, only one-third of respondents mentioned technological tools, such as mobile phones, computers, or the internet.
• With regard to patterns in access to e-agriculture, half of all respondents said they are affected by restricted access to digital media/technologies, but significant proportions (>25%) also selected high cost of access, insufficient content in the correct language, lack of equipment, and lack of power. These barriers were reported at the highest levels in Africa, although Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific had also relatively high incidence.
• As a response to the survey's question on priorities for an e-agriculture forum, respondents expressed a desire for information exchange and communication processes in the following areas:
  
  • developing virtual communities/networks for information and knowledge exchange
    between rural stakeholders, as well as for their empowerment through participation;
  • capacity building of rural stakeholders in use and application of ICT;
  • enhancing farmers and producers access to markets and information on farming
    techniques and practices;
  • improving dissemination of and access to scientific and technical information; and
  • enhancing access to statistics and other types of information for policy and decision-making.

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Dr. Anton Mangstl, Director of the Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building Division within FAO's Knowledge and Communication Department, commented that "E-Agriculture was seen to be more than just new ways of using technology but a contributing factor in the achievement of broader development goals. We are encouraged by the response we received in this global survey, and the interest in furthering e-Agriculture on a global scale."

Please contact Charlotte Masiello-Riome at the address listed below if you wish to join FAO's informal online E-Agriculture Knowledge Forum, which emerged from respondents' contributions to the above-summarised report. According to FAO, this forum, which features a user forum, resources, tools, and other content chosen by global stakeholders, represents a concerted effort to advance the use of ICTs for sustainable agricultural development, worldwide. The aim is to enable the effective exchange of views, good practices, and resources to bring e-agriculture to fruition.