Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

WEBINAR. Status of Digital Agriculture in countries of Europe and Central Asia

22 June 2020Status of digital agriculture in 18 countries of Europe and Central AsiaFAO, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) developed the report Status of Digital Agriculture in 18 countries of Europe and Central Asia, that will be presented at the webinar.

Recording forthcoming

This new study on the Status of Digital Agriculture in eighteen countries of Europe and Central Asia was conducted jointly by FAO and ITU. At the webinar, some countries highlighted their national good practices and present the work jointly done with ITU and FAO. The event also engaged new partners from the public and private sector at digital agriculture activities across the region.

AGENDA
Opening
  • Doreen Bogdan, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
  • Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia
Status of Digital Agriculture in Eighteen Countries of Europe and Central Asia
This part of the webinar offered an opportunity to provide an executive overview of the main results and conclusions of the regional study.
  • Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe
  • Mihaly Csoto, ITU-FAO Consultant
  • Sophie Treinen, Information and Knowledge Management Officer, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia
European and CIS good practices
This part of the webinar focused on addressing the following questions: 
  • What is the status and process of digital transformation of agriculture in the country? 
  • What are the good practices emerging from the process of digital transformation of agriculture? 
  • How the arising challenges might be turned into the opportunities?
Moderation: Natalia Mochu, Regional Director, Regional Office for CIS, ITU
Speakers
  • Albania: Pjerin Shoshi, Director of project, Ministry of agriculture and rural development
  • Armenia: Arman Khojoyan, Deputy Minister of Economy in charge of Agriculture
  • Stepan Tsaturyan, Deputy Minister of High Technological Industry, Armenia
  • Azerbaijan: Namig Shalbuzov, Deputy director of Agro Research Center under the Ministry of Agriculture
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vico Grujica, Professor of agro economics, University of East Sarajevo – national consultant for e-agriculture project
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: Aleksandar Mastilovic - Expert Advisor to the Director. Communications Regulatory Agency
  • Turkey: Hilal Ar, M. Sc. Agriculture Engineer, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Questions and Answers
Regional cooperation and technical assistance in Europe and CIS
  • Sophie Treinen, Information and Knowledge Management Officer, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia
Food systems in Europe and Central Asia are under pressure by COVID-19. Food outlets and people’s mobility have been temporarily suspended, trade has been disrupted, unemployment is on the rise. Their impacts are yet to be quantified, notably in relation to smallholder agriculture that plays a pivotal role in the region. The webinar focuses on the numerous needs and constraints of smallholders and family farms in the region, highlighting the specific challenges that are further evolving due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through this webinar, FAO is providing a platform for sharing analyses and information. A panel of invited guests will review the most salient characteristics of smallholder agriculture, the policy dimensions of family farming, and an overview of how food supply chains in the region have evolved since early April (based on the results of FAO’s rapid survey of key informants). The webinar seeks to highlight opportunities that may arise for smallholder farmers to strengthen food systems, as countries learn to cope with the pandemic.


Opening remarks:
Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader

Speakers:

  • Pedro Arias, FAO Economist
  • Ramona Duminicioiu, European Coordination Via Campesina (Europe), Asociatia Eco Ruralis (Romania)
  • Tatiana Nistorica, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, Moldova
  • Jannes Maes, President of the European Council of Young Farmers
  • Adora Leka, AGS Agroal & Global Services, Albania
  • Adela Leka, Deputy Team Leader of Albania's Agribusiness Support Facility, Albania
  • Namig Shalbuzov, Deputy of Agrarian Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Azerbaijan

Moderated by Mary Kenny, FAO Food Safety and Consumer Protection Officer

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