Event Information

Voices from the Field: Digital Solutions and Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture 

Organized at the WTO by the Missions to the WTO of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Paraguay, and the United States, in coordination with the Digital Agriculture Association 

Monday, 21 November 2022, 13:00 – 14:30, World Trade Organization

Link to Discussion: https://youtu.be/Uc2DUjttwnE

This event was a conversation at the WTO about digital solutions and innovations for sustainable agriculture, with farmers and researchers who are using and developing digital technologies. The speakers included award-winning farmers from the United Kingdom and Nigeria, the Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation, and the Digital Agriculture Association, who shared the approaches and innovations they are using to create more resilient, efficient, and sustainable farms and food systems. 

Digitally-enabled farming tools convert data from the farm into valuable insights to help with farm management. This allows farmers to make more informed decisions such as on seed variety selection, planting density, efficient and well-timed fertilizer and crop protection use, more efficient water and energy usage, as well as market information for when it comes time to sell their products.  

The farmers highlighted their use of no-till agriculture and the benefits they have experienced from this approach for soil health and productivity, as well as carbon sequestration and better profitability. The farmers discussed the importance of seed technology and plant breeding, as well as access to the latest technology in agriculture. The Nigerian farmer shared her positive experience growing a cowpea that has been bred to be resistant to the pod-borer. They discussed the need for regulatory environments that support technology adoption and use of digital tools, as well as the importance of trade facilitating measures that can help farmers adopt technologies without fear of loss of market access. 

Moderator: H.E. Mrs. Pimchanok Pitfield, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the WTO and WIPO 

Panelists:  

• Patience Koku, Replenish Farms, Nigeria.  Recipient of the 2019 Kleckner Award from the Global Farmer Network and 2018 Cornell Alliance for Science Farmer of the Year Award  
• Jake Freestone, Overbury Farms, UK.  Recipient of the 2022 BBC Farming Today Farming for the Future Award, Recipient of the 2021 Farmers Weekly Environmental Champion Award, and the British Farming Awards Arable Innovator of the Year Award. 
• Christina Kruett, Digital Agriculture Association; Head of Digital Crop Protection Strategy, Bayer CropScience, Germany 
• Stanley Oliveira, General Head, EMBRAPA Digital Agriculture, Brazil