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Published on
14.06.24
ICTforAg 2024 was an annual convening over May 28-30 in Washington D.C., Nairobi, Texcoco, Los Banos, New Delhi, and online; organized by CGIAR’s Initiative on Digital Innovation, DAI, and DevGlobal with the support of United States Agency for International Development; Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative; The Rural Development Administration of the Government of the Republic of Korea; and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico. This year, CGIAR’s Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP) had the opportunity to join on-site at IFPRI in Washington D.C. as an Event Partner for the first day of the ICTforAg event, with A4IP’s Megan Steele serving as the Emcee.
What does this year’s ICTforAg theme ‘Localizing Innovation’ mean to A4IP?
It’s time for a demand-driven reality check for our innovations. Priming CGIAR innovations for market uptake is a critical pathway to accelerate the scaling and impact of our research, a pathway especially important to consider in CGIAR’s next research portfolio. By learning from the innovation ecosystem to align research activities with demand, we can ensure that our science offers tangible solutions to localized challenges; and presents new opportunities for partnerships, value generation, and empowerment of local communities.
A4IP’s activities are designed and implemented in partnership with local innovation ecosystems – a point highlighted by A4IP’s Megan Steele in the ICTforAg panel “Localizing ICT: Empowering and Engaging Small-Scale Producers in the Global South.” Alongside fellow speakers Josh Woodward, USAID; Andrew Mack, Agromovil; Ian Pringle, Farm Radio International; Catherine Ragasa, IFPRI; and Roberto Christen, CGIAR System Office; the panel tackled systemic challenges to scaling ICT innovation such as inadequate infrastructure, gender gaps in digital tool usage, and access to patient and blended capital.
All Sessions Streaming Now:
If you missed this panel live, register on the Zoom Live Events platform through the end of June to watch this session and all 100+ session recordings available on demand, and ICTforAg YouTube thereafter.