ICT for a sustainable agriculture – Public

support needsKarel Charvat

WirelessInfo, Club of Ossiach

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The agriculture sector is of strategic importance for both society and economy which, ideally, should create a networks of interacting organizations.

Information sharing

Different groups of stakeholders have to manage many different and heterogeneous sources of information.

A combination and management of information is needed - - in order to plan and make economically and environmentally sound decisions

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Macro level, which includes management of external information (for example about market, subsidies system, weather prediction, global market and traceability systems);

Farm level, which includes for example economical systems, crop rotation, decision supporting system;

Field (micro) level including precision farming, collection of information about traceability and in the future also robotics.

Knowledge managementKnowledge management on the agriculture domain is usually divided into three interrelated levels:

What is the Club of Ossiach?• The Club of Ossiach is a voluntary group of agriculturists, agribusiness

managers, agriculture and forestry technologists, environmentalists and agricultural ICT specialists from around the world to collectively discuss and collaboratively act on influencing the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to improve agricultural productivity, profitability and contribution to food and nutritional security and safety globally.

Why is it called the Club of Ossiach?• It is called the Club of Ossiach as it met for the first time in the

picturesque village of Ossiach, which is near Villach/Klagenfurt in Austria.

Why the Club of Ossiach?• For ICTs to improve agricultural productivity, profitability and

contribution to food and nutritional security and safety globally there will be a need for collaboration between the public, private and community sectors. The public sector provides the policies, Institutions and supports basic research, the private sector brings entrepreneurial skills and provides services and together with the community sector brings innovation that needs to be shared rapidly for development and progress.

Why the Club of Ossiach?• The Club of Ossiach offers a platform for interaction and dialogue for

representatives of all the 3 sectors, public, private and community which includes the cooperatives and producer organizations to improve agricultural productivity, profitability and contribution to food and nutritional security and safety globally.

Why the Club of Ossiach?• The Club of Ossiach was initiated as a platform for interaction and

dialogue of representatives largely from Europe but aims to be global. It is a unique platform that focuses on ICTs use in agriculture viewed holistically as a component of the environment along with forestry, fisheries and livestock farming.

What does the Club of Ossiach do?• They meet periodically at Ossiach (or any other place decided by the

group through consensus) to collectively discuss such as through its annual Conference, Agrifuture Days, and collaboratively act on influencing the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to improve agricultural productivity, profitability and contribution to food and nutritional security and safety globally. Their actions are through advocacy and collaborative projects of its members. The Club of Ossiach also facilitates collaboration especially through collaborative projects.

Vision• The Club of Ossiach´s in the next decade will develop into an

internationally accepted think-tank on issues related to ICT use in agricultural development globally Through its members, it will support more effective use of ICTs in the agriculture and forestry better knowledge management for sustainability in farming and in the protection of environment.

Mission• The Club of Ossiach will regularly discuss collectively through

Agrifuture Days Conferences, seminars, discussions, and collaboratively act on influencing the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to improve agricultural productivity, profitability and contribution to food and nutritional security and safety globally along with the protection of the environment. The Clubs actions are through advocacy and collaborative projects of its members. The Club of Ossiach ‚will also facilitate partnerships through collaborative projects of its members.

Club of Ossiach recommendation for family farming• Family farming in different parts of the world which in general

reflected trends globally• Development of information and communications technologies,

especially those influencing agriculture • Family farming in the future that can be improved by the

developments in information and communications technologies

Club of Ossiach recommendation for family farming• Policies promoting and enabling aggregation of family farmers and farming

systems such as through cooperatives, producer organizations, farmer organizations etc. ICTs can contribute to “virtual” aggregation of farms, synchronization of farm inputs, processes, outputs and logistics to participate in markets. • New Forms of advisory and support systems for knowledge, skills and

technology • Trust Centers with Data and Information Agreements, Treaties with

regulatory and enforcement mechanisms to share data at various levels and among multiple categories of users from plot, farm, farming system, region, national to global agricultural and related systems.

Club of Ossiach recommendation for family farming• New business-models that integrate governments, farmers and banks,

insurance, market intermediaries, cooperatives etc. for participation in markets• Inclusive Governance of flow of data, information, knowledge, skills and

technology• Inclusive development of standards• Open Technologies – Open data, information, knowledge, learning • Increased democratization of science, learning and support to

exponential innovation• Lower cost of Hardware, infrastructure and connectivity

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Contacts:http://www.clubofossiach.com/coo/http://www.wirelessinfo.cz/http://www.foodie-project.eu/charvat@wirelessinfo.cz