Technical Report ICTforAg 2024 Reporting Period: January 2024 – June 2024 Jointly prepared and submitted by CGIAR (Jawoo Koo, j.koo@cgiar.org) and DevGlobal (Matt Manning, matt.manning@dev.global; Dawn Angus, dawn.angus@dev.global) 1. Rationale ICTforAg is an annual convening where agricultural stakeholders and technology experts come together to share knowledge, find solutions, and form partnerships to address challenges in agri-food systems across low- and middle-income countries. The main goal of ICTforAg is to grow communities and catalyze meaningful conversations, insights, and collaborations, increase participation of participants from the developing world, promote knowledge sharing and learning, and inspire practitioners to develop inclusive and sustainable ICT solutions. ICTforAg has a strong history since 2015 and owes its success to the contributions made by various organizations to build this community. In 2019, it moved to being hosted by USAID with support from DAI and the Digital Frontiers project. For the first five years, ICTforAg events took place in Washington, DC, with 100–200 attendees annually. The COVID pandemic prompted ICTforAg to become a global online forum, with over 1,500 participants in 2020 and 3,000 in 2022. Speaker numbers also grew, from 40 in 2019 to 145 in 2022. In 2023, CGIAR and DevGlobal, in partnership with USAID Feed the Future and DAI Digital Frontiers, jointly implemented ICTforAg 2023 as a global online conference on November 7-9. ICTforAg 2023 engaged 1,778 attendees and 145 speakers. In 2024, these entities implemented ICTforAg 2024 as a hybrid event on May 28-30 with virtual programming and in-person programming across five locations: New Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Los Baños, Philippines; Texcoco, Mexico, and Washington, D.C., USA. CGIAR, the world’s largest agricultural research for development organization, and DevGlobal, a world-class professional event management expert, have a track record of jointly organizing online, hybrid, and in-person events and engaging with well-recognized ICTforAg practitioners, academics, researchers, service providers, and users in public and private sectors, including smallholder farmers, across low and middle-income countries. Both organizations are committed to growing ICTforAg communities and catalyzing meaningful conversations, insights, and collaborations. 2. Progress Since the inception in January 2024, CGIAR and DevGlobal worked closely with DAI and USAID to design and deliver ICTforAg 2024 as a global, hybrid event. Detailed activities during the reporting period are presented below. 1 mailto:j.koo@cgiar.org mailto:matt.manning@dev.global mailto:dawn.angus@dev.global 2.1. Management and Obligations Regular meetings of the ICTforAg team members from CGIAR, DevGlobal, DAI, and USAID were held to update on key activities, roles of each member, and expected actions throughout the reporting period. Contractual obligations were discussed amongst key stakeholders across the organizations at the close of the 2023 event and inception of the 2024 event. This included individual meetings between entities and group discussions and alignment as necessary. The importance and timeliness related to these discussions were prioritized due to the tight timeline between events. These were held virtually across organizations. With goals to grow communities and catalyze meaningful conversations, insights, and collaborations and increase the participation of participants from low and middle-income countries, strengthen knowledge sharing and shared learning, and inspire practitioners to develop inclusive and sustainable ICT solutions, CGIAR and DevGlobal agreed on the following desired outcomes from the 2024 ICTforAg and subsequent events over the next several years: ● Local digital ecosystems (e.g., policymakers, investors, service providers, practitioners, and users) are strengthened to invest and deliver impactful, inclusive, and sustainable ICTforAg solutions. ● New innovative ICTforAg projects and collaborative partnerships are developed. ● Small-scale producers benefit from more localized, gender-responsive, and affordable ICT services becoming available in the local digital ecosystem. Building on a flexible collaboration model to meet the needs and execute the ICTforAg conferences, CGIAR and DevGlobal agreed the following terms of reference: ● CGIAR will focus on the overall program strategy, planning, and management; funder and donor relations, including but not limited to financial management and mechanisms; cross CGIAR Centers relations and local engagement connected to CGIAR Centers and Research Initiatives and Programs. ● DevGlobal will focus on technical event management; establishing public-private sector partnerships; overall logistics, management of programs, and coordination with event production teams. Additionally, the following summarizes DevGlobal’s scope of work for the 2024 ICTforAg in more detail: ● Overall Project Management and Event Strategy ○ Weekly project communications, meeting coordination and facilitation, workback schedule development and management ○ Vendor sourcing and management ○ Risk mitigation planning ○ Project reconciliation: budget reconciliation, project archival ○ Development of event name, tagline, theme, goals, objectives, and outcomes ○ Agenda planning and scheduling recommendations ○ Event format recommendations ○ Long-term strategy planning (beyond 2024 event) ● Speaker and Attendee Management 2 ○ Manage all initial communications with potential speakers and coordinate session selection with Planning Team (USAID, DAI, and CGIAR) ○ Manage all initial communications with attendee applicants and coordinate attendee confirmations with CGIAR teams ○ Provide templates for in-person speaker communications to CGIAR teams (event details, rehearsals, webinar links, etc.) ○ Manage virtual speaker communications (event details, rehearsals, webinar links, etc.) ○ Provide templates for attendee communications to CGIAR teams ○ Track all speaker and attendee details (via AirTable) ○ Prep speakers – technical training, best practices for a virtual event, etc. ○ Talent management (emcee/moderator) ● Sponsorship planning and procurement ○ Develop sponsorship tiers and plan ○ Create all necessary sponsorship documentation and collateral ○ Manage sponsor communications after initial outreach by CGIAR, DAI and/or USAID ○ Collect and manage sponsor donations ● Communications ○ Development of communications plan ○ Copy writing/editing ○ Email design ○ Social media content creation ○ Survey creation, facilitation, and analysis (e.g., post event and in-session support for speakers) ○ Management of event email (attendee/speaker correspondence) ● Creative Development ○ Brand development workshop ● Graphic design ○ Email headers ○ Social media posters (one per event location) ○ Speaker social media assets (one per event location) ○ Assets required by virtual platforms ○ Event-branded PPT template ○ Event-branded Word template ● Video and motion design ○ :10 - :15 second motion opening video ○ :05 motion closing video ○ Transition/wipe ○ Lower thirds ● Technical Pre-Production ○ Determine in-person, virtual, and hybrid event requirements and provide the recommendation for the online event platform ○ Configure platform(s) including all design and technical deliverables ○ Produce all production documentation (ROS, technical diagrams, storyboards, production schedule, etc.) ○ Contingency/mitigation plan 3 2.2. Preparatory Phase (January-March 2024) Initial discussions involved setting up the series of regular check-in meetings; tentative dates of the 2024 ICTforAg while ensuring no major conflicts with CGIAR and USAID events and other conferences with similar ICTforAg-related themes; possible plans on re-engagement of the communities engaged in previous events; communication strategies to announce the 2024 ICTforAg via different social media platforms; and potential rebranding of ICTforAg. Sharing of information from past (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) ICTforAg events provided by USAID and DAI was valuable in learning the past themes, agenda, speakers, list of participants, and other relevant information in the planning of the 2024 conference. In January, planning kicked off with meetings to develop concrete workplans and determine responsibilities of each partner. A schedule of regular meetings was agreed upon to ensure joint development of activities, targets, and monthly milestones. Meetings were used to determine event locations, CGIAR city leads and teams, event schedule, and agenda overlap between all five locations. Discussions also considered main themes and sessions, potential keynote speakers, and the range of participants (i.e., researchers, academia, government, local actors, developers, private sector, farmers, youth), the establishment of the advisory committee, drafting the conference logo and tagline (Figure 1), and other logistical considerations including which online conference platform (e.g., Zoom vs. Teams), survey tools, publicizing the announcement of 2024 ICTforAg, Learning Network launch phase activities, and the NextGen Ambassador Program. Figure 1 Brand guidelines (logo and color scheme) "Localizing Impact" was chosen as the main theme of the 2024 event, building on the 2023 theme, "Cultivating Inclusion." Event partners committed to focus on showcasing speakers from local digital ecosystems on the global stage, prioritizing in-person speakers and panelists. Additionally, the team determined that multiple local events should be held to directly engage local community members, 4 including users such as farmers and nonprofits, academics, digital innovators, and policy decision makers. Discussions initially focused on 3-5 events, with the team ultimately identifying five locations for hybrid programming: New Delhi (India), Nairobi (Kenya), Los Baños (Philippines), Texcoco (Mexico), and Washington, D.C. (USA). It was determined that all in-person programs from the five sites would be offered in a hybrid format, along with a dedicated “virtual day” featuring speakers from additional global locations. To further build off of the 2023 theme, “Cultivating Inclusion,” and to continue highlighting the role of ICT in benefiting all agricultural actors inclusively and sustainably at both the local and global levels, session selection criteria also considered how proposed content addressed one or all of the following three themes: ● Inclusion: Critically review technology solutions through the lens of gender and social inclusion. Sessions will highlight the policies, strategies, and other enabling considerations that can lead to the inclusive digital ecosystem. ● Innovation: Explore innovative digital technology solutions that are available in agri-food systems in the developing world. Sessions will delve into cutting-edge research, technologies, and approaches that are scaling while overcoming adoption barriers. ● Inspiration: Share inspiring real-world examples, showcasing both success and lessons-learned stories from around the world, highlighting the potential of digital technology to drive positive changes in the agri-food sector. 2.3. Development Phase (February-May 2023) The planning team maintained close communications throughout the development phase as DevGlobal worked with CGIAR city leads to develop the agenda and content and increase the number of registrants through communications and outreach efforts. Highlights include: ● Online assets, including the ICTforAg.com domain, contact@ictforag.com email address, and the website, were updated and utilized (assets were transferred from DAI to CGIAR’s Amazon Web Services account in July 2023). ● Registration opened in March and was posted on the ICTforAg website. Initial registration of 635 participants in March rose to 2,816 total registrants as of the first day of the conference. About 79% of registrants signed up to attend during May. Out of the total registrants, 36% were female and 62% were male; this marks a 6% increase in female participants over ICTforAg 2023 (Figure 2). The majority (54%) of registrants were in the age bracket of 30-45 years old followed by youth (18-29 years old) at 25% (Figure 3). The primary occupation of participants is presented in Table 1. Most of the participants are researchers/academics (21%), followed by individuals from international non-governmental organizations (17%), consultancy agencies (11%), and government agencies (8%). Registration remained open through June for post-event recording access and totaled 2,940 registrations before the platform closed on June 30. ● Agenda development started in February through the Call for Sessions online form. To feature both global and local content, the planning team agreed to focus the Washington, D.C. event May 28 on global content; Los Baños, Nairobi, New Delhi, and Texcoco featured local content on May 29, and a virtual day on May 30 allowed for both global and localized content. To ensure a local focus and diversity of speakers and perspectives, CGIAR city leads accepted and placed 5 mailto:contact@ictforag.com speakers into a variety of session types, including keynotes, panels, breakouts, and lightning talks. A total of 101 sessions were developed in the agenda with 314 speakers1. Virtual session views reached 7,265 over the three-day period. Additional recording views brought total virtual session views to 7,683, or roughly a 25% increase over ICTforAg 2023 total session views. When combined with onsite participant engagement, we estimate that ICTforAg2024 had more than 10,000 total session views. ● Youth engagement was an important factor in the agenda development. Based on the lessons learned from the Youth Ambassador program during ICTforAg 2022 (e.g., Youth Ambassadors were mainly used for campaigning on social media and facilitating sessions) and ICTforAg 2023 (e.g., youth-focused sessions where young farmers, food value-chain actors, and data scientists shared their experiences applying ICT in agriculture), the planning team prioritized active engagement with youth. Femi Adekoya, the leader of the 2022 Youth Ambassador Program and a 2023 ICTforAg planning team member, was brought on to lead the 2024 ICTforAg NextGen Ambassador Program (Section 4.1). Figure 2 Gender composition of ICTforAg 2024 registrants 1 See Appendix 1 for more detailed information on the agenda and the session-level participation metrics. 6 Figure 3 Age disaggregation of 2024 ICTforAg registrants Table 1 Primary occupation (%) of ICTforAg 2024 registrants Primary Occupation Total Registrants (%) In-Person Registrants (%) Virtual Only Registrants (%) Researcher / academic 21 21 24 International non-governmental organization 17 16 21 Consultancy 11 13 9 Government agency 8 5 11 Agtech startup consultant 6 6 5 Extension Service 6 6 6 Startup 6 7 5 Producer / farmer 5 7 3 Local non-governmental organization 5 5 4 Technology ecosystem partner 3 2 3 Media/marketing 2 3 2 Donor / funder 2 2 2 Food service / retailer 2 2 2 Investor 1 1 1 Financial Institution 1 1 1 Input Supplier 1 1 1 Processor 1 2 0 Multilateral 1 1 1 Transporter 0 0 0 2.4. Main Event (May 28-30, 2024) To cater to a global audience hailing from 100 countries, the ICTforAg 2024 event was strategically scheduled across various global time zones. The event spanned three days, with the following schedule (presented in text in Eastern Standard Time; local times presented in the graphic below show the schedule of 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM local time in each location): ● Day 1: Tuesday, May 28, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT o Washington, D.C., USA 7 ● Day 2: Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, 28-29, from 9:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT o Los Baños, Philippines: 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM EDT o New Delhi, India: 11:30 PM to 7:30 AM EDT o Nairobi, Kenya: 2:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT o Texcoco, Mexico: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM EDT ● Day 3: Thursday, May 30, from 2:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT o Nairobi, Kenya: 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM EDT o Virtual Day: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT Figure 4 Image used in the ICTforAg 2024 campaign to show schedule across five locations and virtual day https://x.com/ICTforAg/status/1785728282110853228/photo/1 The event featured a total of 314 speakers, of whom 37% were women. The agenda included a variety of keynote sessions, plenary sessions with presentations and panels, breakout sessions, and lightning talk sessions. Out of the 2,940 individuals who registered for the event, a total of 2,175 attendees (constituting 74% of registrants) participated either virtually or in person over the three days. These participation metrics exceed those of the ICTforAg 2023 event, where 1,778 attendees (68% of registrants) participated. Of the 938 individuals who were registered to attend in person, 641 (68%) attended events onsite; 185 people attended in Los Baños, 118 in Nairobi, 123 in New Delhi, 104 in Washington, D.C., and 111 in Texcoco. A total of 1,688 attendees (constituting 57% of registrants) participated virtually over the three days with 7,265 independent online session views; compared to the 6,020 virtual session views during ICTforAg 2023, ICTforAg 2024 had a 20% increase in virtual session views during the event. The top four countries in terms of virtual attendance were Kenya (14%), India (12%), the United States (11%), and Nigeria (10%). 8 https://x.com/ICTforAg/status/1785728282110853228/photo/1 Figure 5 Percentage of virtual attendees by country Analyzing the number of attendees by session time showed some high-level insights to help develop the agenda for ICTforAg 2025 (Figure 6). ● Keynote Sessions: Keynote timeslots showed a pronounced peak in viewership in each location. This suggests that the keynote sessions attracted more interest compared to other sessions. Lightning talk sessions also performed well. ● Virtual Engagement: Across all locations and days, virtual attendees were far more likely to access sessions through the platform lobby livestream than by joining the meeting directly as an attendee (Figure 6). During Virtual Day, viewers predominantly joined by livestream, resulting in very few or no attendees in some virtual sessions. This trend suggests that speaker presentations, rather than interactive sessions, may be a better fit for virtual-only sessions. ● Virtual Viewership: Overall virtual viewership decreased from the first day (479 session attendees) to the last (381 session attendees), suggesting potential virtual viewer fatigue. ● Concurrent Sessions: Virtual Day included an average of six concurrent sessions in each time slot. Consequently, viewership was spread more thinly across sessions. This phenomenon was especially evident during the 8:00 AM EDT time slot during Virtual Day, which featured nine sessions to best accommodate speaker timezones; most viewers joined two of the sessions, leaving the other seven with very few participants. 9 Figure 6 Views by session for all locations and Virtual Day 2.5. Post-Event (May 2024) In the weeks following the ICTforAg 2024 event, a sequence of communications were dispatched to all participants. The ICTforAg LinkedIn and Twitter/X channels posted communications thanking attendees (Figure 7) in addition to reposting speaker and attendee reflections and content to continue post-event content promotion. Emails to attendees expressed gratitude for their participation and provided information regarding access to session recordings. Recordings were initially available on the Zoom platform through June 30, 2024; additional recording views brought total virtual session views to 7,683, or roughly a 25% increase over ICTforAg 2023 total session views. As of July, session recordings have been uploaded to the conference’s YouTube channel, which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_USVAit1Sv8zEtNheHizpw. The process of producing and organizing these presentations and recordings is currently ongoing, further enhancing the accessibility of the event's valuable content. Follow-up emails invited participants and speakers to complete the post-event survey and request an e-certificate of participation. To date, 52 e-certificates have been issued through Gutenberg Certs, a platform recommended by CGIAR in 2023 that combines the power of Zoom, Webex, or Teams with the ability to issue secure and tamperproof digital certificates powered by Blockchain technology. 10 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_USVAit1Sv8zEtNheHizpw Figure 7 Graphic used in post-event communications such as social media, capturing some of the photos uploaded https://x.com/ICTforAg/status/1797662999924342984/photo/1 Post-event, DevGlobal held a meeting with each CGIAR city lead and team to collect localized reflections and feedback. Two meetings were also dedicated specifically to the planning team’s reflections and feedback, and separate retrospective meetings were held with the Learning Network and NextGen Ambassador Program teams. These discussions are centered on evaluating the aspects of the event that were successful, identifying areas for improvement, and outlining action steps and future strategies. 3. Problems Encountered and Proposed Solutions The ICTforAg team encountered several problems throughout the reporting period. The following section documents those problems and how they were resolved. 3.1. High number of session and speaker submissions and approvals This year, in an effort to inclusively accommodate the interests of the global ICTforAg community and ensure diverse speaker representation, the planning team adopted a comprehensive approach by accepting speakers and then building each agenda to accommodate those speakers. This inclusive strategy allowed for a wide array of speakers to cover localized yet diverse topics spanning multiple levels of the ICT ecosystem. However, this approach created several challenges: 1. High demand on planning team resources: Speaker applicants initially submitted session proposals, but most speakers were accepted and then organized into panels where their proposed content appeared in a different format (e.g. as part of a panel discussion rather than as an independent presentation). This complex agenda development required the planning team to provide extensive speaker communications and planning support prior to the event. Recognizing the challenges encountered, next year’s strategy will involve a more selective process in 11 https://x.com/ICTforAg/status/1797662999924342984/photo/1 determining the agenda. 2. Delayed agenda finalization: Speaker approvals were managed as submissions were received, but ongoing changes and additions, as well as late speaker submissions, delayed agenda finalization. While known aspects of the agenda were communicated through social media and the website, some session-specific communications activities were delayed. In 2025, we will consider the extent to which the team can accommodate late speaker submissions and work to finalize the agenda earlier. 3. Too many speakers in sessions: Speakers were thoughtfully selected and organized by city leads into plenary and breakout sessions utilizing a variety of formats such as panels lasting up to one hour and sessions containing a series of concise, 5-10 minute lightning talks. While this approach supported the representation of diverse topics and perspectives, agendas were full and lacked breaks. Some sessions with multiple speakers ran over time, impacting other sessions and limiting networking time. Next year, we will include buffer time between sessions on the agenda, encourage fewer speakers per session, and advise that multi-speaker sessions be at least 45 to 60 minutes long. 4. High logistical demand on the event planning team during the event: During the event itself, the planning team provided robust technical support and moderation across the multitude of sessions, spanning three days across multiple time zones both onsite and virtually. In 2025, a more selective speaker selection process will aim to balance the richness of content with the logistical feasibility of the event, ensuring a focused and well-supported experience for both speakers and attendees. 3.2. Multi-site agenda overlap All five onsite locations held their events during the May 28-30 timeframe. While cascading agendas strengthened cross-site event cohesion and allowed for real-time hybrid sessions such as the one between Nairobi and New Delhi, the scope of each onsite event and virtual component placed a high demand on the resources of the planning team, the technical production team, and CGIAR staff leads and teams at each location. CGIAR staff involved in event execution reflected that the demands of managing their local event largely precluded them from participating in other sites’ programming and shared that they, alongside other speakers and attendees, would benefit from the opportunity to attend at multiple sites. Additionally, while “watch parties” were initially considered to increase cross-site learning and engagement, local agendas were ultimately filled with sessions and networking activities. Thirdly, viewership on Zoom decreased slightly over the three days, suggesting potential virtual viewer fatigue or difficulty with dedicating three days to virtual conference attendance. Given these factors, we will consider other formats for hosting multiple events in 2025, such as staggering onsite events across a longer timeframe. Additionally, we will consider adding additional interactive elements such as workshops, site visits, and chat booths, gamifying engagement at and across sites to retain virtual viewership, and building more networking and breaks into scheduling to combat potential virtual attendee fatigue. 12 3.3. Online platform issues Prior to the event, the technical production team held multiple meetings with each local technology team that made themselves available to determine onsite technology assets and requirements and test streaming to Zoom. Plans included customized solutions for Washington, D.C., where conference rooms are only able to connect to Microsoft Teams, and streaming plenary sessions to ping.gg for enhanced technical production. Despite these preparations, several significant technology issues occurred while executing the main event: 1. Varied competency of local technology teams: local technology teams and staff members assigned to support onsite technical production exhibited varied levels of competence in operating their onsite computing equipment, which led to several delays in session start times. In 2025, we will ensure that local teams have comprehensive written documentation to support local technology use by both local staff and onsite production teams. Additionally, we will conduct practice sessions where each onsite team takes a session live so that they can practice the entire production process. 2. Ping.gg failure: although the technical production team and onsite teams ensured ping.gg was IP whitelisted and tested connecting local technology to ping.gg prior to the event, ping.gg screenshare failed to work for several global sites during the conference. The technical production team was prepared with a contingency plan and used a combination of Google Meet for screen sharing and ping.gg for audio and video to feed into Zoom, resulting in a seamless experience for virtual attendees. In 2025, we will work to preemptively solve ping.gg screen sharing challenges at global locations or will move to a different technical production platform. 3. Low hybrid engagement: Virtual attendees favored viewing sessions from the Zoom lobby as opposed to joining sessions directly, which limited simultaneous engagement between speakers and virtual attendees. Next year, we will either provide virtual attendees with specific guidance clarifying the differences between Zoom lobby and in-session attendance or use a different virtual platform that facilitates better communication between onsite and virtual participants in hybrid sessions. 3.4. Onsite attendance While onsite event participation was strong, fewer people attended onsite than initially registered (Table 2). Attendance attrition rates of 25% to 50% are common for free events, and the planning team worked to combat potential attrition by providing regular communications templates for city leads to send to participants. No-show rates at some locations may have been impacted by multiple factors; for example, New Delhi onsite attendance may have been affected by day-of record-breaking extreme heat conditions, and Washington, D.C. attendance may have been impacted by the event’s immediate proximity to the Memorial Day weekend. In the future, we will refrain from scheduling the event near a federal holiday and will consider implementing a registration fee to help ensure commitment from registrants. To maintain diverse representation and accessibility, we will consider offering a sliding scale fee structure, enabling participants from various economic backgrounds to attend. This approach would help balance financial commitments and sustainability with our commitment to inclusivity. 13 Table 2 Onsite attendee no-show rate (%) by location Location Registered Attended No-Show Rate (%) Los Baños 244 185 24 Nairobi 140 118 16 New Delhi 257 123 52 Texcoco 109 111 0 Washington, D.C. 188 104 45 All Locations 938 641 32 3.5. De-prioritization of advisory committee role With multiple stakeholder organizations engaged within the planning team, the importance of additional advisory committee members was less of a priority for ICTforAg 2024. As planned, the core planning team individually approached advisory committee members as necessary to re-engage them and hear their feedback on priority topics and items. It is recommended for future ICTforAg events that event partners and sponsors serve as advisory members to influence and contribute to the agenda, speakers, and fundraising to sustain ICTforAg long-term. 3.6. Video uploads The team encountered difficulties with video processing following the event. Previously, Zoom allowed for batch downloading of videos and preserved video edits completed in Zoom Live Events. However, updates to Zoom required the individual download of each video, and downloaded videos were reverted back to their original, unedited recordings. These process changes required additional work and staff resources. Additionally, YouTube limits the number of videos that can be uploaded each day, necessitating batch uploads followed by waiting periods. In the future, we will build more time into our workback plan for video editing and uploads to prevent similar delays. 4. Success Stories A primary success of ICTforAg 2024 was the significant increase in session attendance. Virtual session views reached 7,265 over the three-day period, and additional recording views brought total virtual session views to 7,683, or roughly a 25% increase over ICTforAg 2023 total session views. When combined with onsite participant engagement, we estimate that ICTforAg2024 had more than 10,000 total session views. The event’s multi-site, hybrid format made content accessible to a wider audience, and the roughly 25% increase in virtual views compared to 2023 suggests a growing global interest in leveraging digital technology solutions in agrifood systems. In addition to the successful key metrics in the event registration and participation (i.e., 2,940 total registered; 2,175 attendees; 641 onsite attendees and 1,688 virtual attendees; 314 speakers; 101 sessions; 7,683 total virtual session views, and likely more than 10,000 total session views including onsite participants), the planning team implemented the following additional activities alongside the main event, proactively responding to the ICTforAg community’s feedback and desires from past events. 14 4.1. ICTforAg NextGen Ambassador Program To increase youth representation and engagement in the ICTforAg 2024 events and agenda, the planning team determined to build upon the ICTforAg 2022 Youth Ambassador program and ICTforAg 2023 youth-focused sessions by formalizing a 2024 ICTforAg NextGen Youth Ambassador cohort. Femi Adekoya, the leader of the 2022 Youth Ambassador program and a 2023 ICTforAg planning team member, was brought on to lead the 2024 ICTforAg NextGen Ambassador Program. The program aimed to empower young agricultural professionals to actively contribute to discussions and solutions regarding the role of digital technologies in advancing resilient and sustainable agri-food systems. Program objectives were to: ● Put youth at the center stage of the ICTforAg conference, enabling young agricultural professionals to actively participate in shaping the future of agri-food systems ● Foster a sense of community and belonging among young agricultural professionals ● Showcase the impact and potential of ICT in agriculture through the voices and experiences of young leaders The 2024 cohort included 30 ambassadors from 16 countries, ranging in age from 22 to 37. 13 ambassadors identified as female and 17 identified as male. Ambassadors were selected in March from 182 applicants, with selections considering demonstrated interest in and experience with ICT solutions, leadership skills, interest in engaging community, social media presence, and diversity of demographics, backgrounds, career roles, and geographies. Ambassadors near 2024 ICTforAg event locations were identified in India (3), Kenya (4), Mexico (2), the Philippines (1), and the United States (4), along with ambassadors in Brazil (1), Canada (2), Ghana (1), Italy (2), Malawi (1), Nepal (1), Nigeria (3), Peru (1), Rwanda (2), Sierra Leone (1), and Uganda (1) (Figure 7). Figure 7 Graphic depicting 2024 ICTforAg NextGen Ambassador locations The planning team determined to keep the first cohort smaller to facilitate a more personalized experience. The 2024 cohort was announced on social media in April (Figure 8), and ambassador 15 biographies were featured on the ICTforAg website at https://www.ictforag.com/events/ictforag-2024/nextgen-ambassadors/. A program kickoff call in April introduced ambassadors to the program, outlined objectives and expectations, and provided an opportunity for ambassadors to hear from and interact with ICTforAg organizers and leaders, including: ● David Bergvinson, Senior Advisor, DevGlobal ● Jawoo Koo, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI ● Josh Woodard, Senior Digital Advisor, USAID ● Matt Manning, Founder, DevGlobal ● Ridwan Sorunke, Executive Director, DevAfrique Figure 8 Graphic used in communications picturing the 2024 ICTforAg NextGen Ambassadors Ambassador responsibilities leading up to ICTforAg included content curation, generation, and dissemination, as well as community outreach and engagement to help drive ICTforAg registration. To support ambassadors’ campaigning and maximize their engagement and effectiveness on social media, the planning team designed and delivered a communications workshop for ambassadors in early May. The training featured DevGlobal Communications Director Laura Guzmán, DevGlobal Consultant and ICTforAg communications lead Suzanne Konswa, and ICTforAG NextGen Ambassador Program Lead Femi Adekoya, as well as a panel of NextGen Ambassadors already proficient at social media engagement. Ambassadors learned how to create compelling content, amplify their message, and engage in professional networking and outreach to create a personal brand and better influence ICT solutions in agrifood systems. They were also introduced to digital assets available for promoting ICTforAg. With financial support provided by CGIAR, a total of 13 in-country ambassadors traveled to ICTforAg event locations to help elevate youth and young professional voices at each event. Ambassadors in Texcoco participated in a session panel on distance learning and shared insights into emerging youth leaders in digital transformation in agriculture in Latin America during the lightning talks session. In Los Baños, New Delhi, and Washington, D.C., ambassadors offered reflections on NextGen panels at the 16 https://www.ictforag.com/events/ictforag-2024/nextgen-ambassadors/ close of the day to highlight challenges and opportunities for youth involvement, as well as inspire action. Ten ambassadors also participated as speakers during ICTforAg Virtual Day, including some participating in the Learning Network Community Spotlight Section (see Section 4.2). Across all five event locations, ambassadors also supported onsite event management, including event set up, breakout session management, timekeeping, note-taking, and live social media reporting. As one onsite ambassador shared, “being in the same room with experts in the digital agriculture space, where knowledge, networking, and learning opportunities were abundant, was truly invaluable.” A program closing call was held in June to acknowledge and celebrate the NextGen Ambassadors’ accomplishments. The program included recognition of ambassadors’ contributions to ICTforAg and remarks by guest speaker John Agboola, the Manager of AGCO Agriculture Foundation, a global philanthropic foundation supporting farmers and the next generation (Figure 9). Agboola has designed and coordinated the Youth-in-Data initiative for the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture and the Youth-in-Soil and COVID-19 Food Future initiatives for TMG Research gGmbH. Ambassadors were encouraged by John, and through breakout room discussions, to consider how they can continue advocating for and advancing digital solutions. Figure 9 Guest speaker John Agboola presenting during the 2024 ICTforAg NextGen Ambassadors Closing Call A post-program survey was shared with ambassadors to collect ambassador feedback and identify opportunities to strengthen future iterations of the NextGen program. The majority of ambassadors rated their overall experience in the ambassador program as engaging or highly engaging. However, global ambassadors who were not supported to travel to ICTforAg events expressed that they would appreciate the opportunity to attend events in-person in the future. 4.2. ICTforAg Learning Network In 2023, as a response to the global ICTforAg community’s desire to continue conversations and collaborations outside of the events, CGIAR soft-launched and demoed the ICTforAg Learning Network (Figure 10; https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com) at the Expo during ICTforAg 2023. The Learning Network is an online platform with the following five main features: 17 https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com ● Collaborative Space – Engage with peers across the global south to responsibly ideate, innovate, validate and scale digital innovations ● Innovation Showcase – Explore the digital innovations from the global south that are designed to transform the agrifood systems ● Mentors Connect – Connect with the experts and mentors to get personalized expert guidance ● AgroTutor Academy – Advance your skills and career with online and WhatsApp-based courses ● Digital Evidence Clearing House – Ask Digital Innovation Navigation Assistant (DINA) to search across 856 research-based resources The ICTforAg Learning Network was first used as the main platform for the five Inspire Challengers from the 2023 ICTforAg Conference to connect and learn from mentors and other community members. The Network officially soft-launched to the public in March with invitations sent to innovators and potential mentors within the existing ICTforAg community. Figure 10 Screenshot of the ICTforAg Learning Network landing page To help drive platform registration and community engagement, the planning team implemented a series of three events and communications activities during the initial hard launch phase from April to June. Efforts ultimately drew 510 new users to the platform (632 total) and recruited 22 mentors (25 total), 18 new innovations (53 total), and 7 new collaboration spaces (10 total). Additionally, five videos and a user guide were implemented to help Learning Network members orient to and use the platform. Learning Network Innovation Showcase A virtual Innovation Showcase event featured an overview of the platform’s Innovation Showcase functionality, as well as lightning talks designed to spotlight digital innovations, promote cross-regional knowledge sharing, and inspire solutions. The event was originally scheduled for April but rescheduled 18 for May following a last-minute speaker internet outage; due to speaker availability, the rescheduled event was reimagined to include speakers from all five ICTforAg 2023 Inspire Challenge teams: ● Ashley King-Bischof, Climate-Smart Coffee ● Casper Strydom, Farm2Go ● Hugo Lopez, Inclusion de la mujer como soporte en el agronegocio cafetero ● Ramiro Carretero, Agroconsultas ● Varun Kashyap, WomBees (Women for Bees) 34 people attended the event out of 167 registrations (20%), and a session recording was shared with all registrants. Despite sending multiple email communications and reminders to registrants, the rescheduled event date may have contributed to lower live audience availability and participation. Learning Network Community Spotlight Session The Learning Network Community Spotlight session was held during ICTforAg Virtual Day on May 30 and engaged 22 participants. This event offered participants a live demonstration of the platform’s Collaborative Space functionality, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with peers and colleagues in virtual breakout rooms. Breakout conversations were hosted by ICTforAg NextGen Ambassadors and focused on four high-priority topics: high-frequency monitoring for agri-food systems, AI for agriculture, online distance learning, and carbon farming. Participants discussed community challenges and collaboration ideas related to these topics that will drive future Learning Network collaborative space content. The workshop was designed to be repeatable and drive platform sustainability by sourcing topics and content that are engaging and useful to community members. Future iterations of the event may benefit from being scheduled as a standalone workshop, rather than being offered alongside concurrent sessions. Learning Network: Mentor Speed Dating A Mentor Speed Dating event on June 13 engaged 45 attendees in virtual group speed mentoring sessions to foster connections and facilitate knowledge exchange between participants and seasoned industry professionals who are Learning Network mentors (Figure 11): ● Berta Ortiz Crespo, User Research and Design Specialist, Alliance Bioversity CIAT ● Josh Woodard, Senior Digital Advisor, USAID ● Sagar Deshmukh, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati ● Shishir Ranjan, CEO at FARMISTO Group of Companies ● Sushree Satapathy, Senior Crop Modeling Specialist, IRRI 19 https://www.ictforag.com/inspire/climate-smart-coffee/ https://www.ictforag.com/inspire/farm2go/ https://www.ictforag.com/inspire/innovakit/ https://www.ictforag.com/inspire/agroconsultas/ https://www.ictforag.com/inspire/wombees-women-for-bees/ https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com/mentor-detail/MTM= https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com/mentor-detail/MjU= https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com/mentor-detail/MjE= https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com/mentor-detail/MTE= https://learningnetwork.ictforag.com/mentor-detail/MTc= Figure 11 Graphic used to communicate the Mentor Speed Dating event on social media https://twitter.com/ICTforAg/status/1798377815471263801/photo/1 Mentees and mentors were provided with guidance for enhancing mentoring relationships prior to the event, and all attendees participated in a Mentor Mapping activity designed to help participants identify key current or potential mentoring relationships, as well as immediate actions they can take to start or enhance those relationships. Participants also viewed a live demonstration of the Learning Network’s Mentors Connect website and were encouraged to sign up for continued mentoring. The event was structured to be repeatable, and mentors and mentees shared that they found the event valuable and would participate again. Learning Network at ICTforAg Events Additionally, branded Learning Network materials were created and integrated into ICTforAg communications and onsite events (Figure 12). Due to the localized nature of event spaces and each agenda, the planning team created plug-and-play integration options for each location. City leads were prepared with a one-pager and sign-up options that could be leveraged by each DevGlobal onsite lead, who also served as a Learning Network ambassador. City leads were also encouraged to include a Learning Network “plenary moment” that included a slide deck, script, and QR codes for easy site, mentor, and innovator registration in real time. Sites also printed the one-pager as a poster and made handouts available as takeaways. 20 https://twitter.com/ICTforAg/status/1798377815471263801/photo/1 Figure 12 Learning Network one-pager created for use during onsite ICTforAg events The planning team also engaged in targeted mentor and innovator recruitment to help ensure that mentees and site users have access to a range of expertise, perspectives, and support. Regular social media and email communications were implemented, and invitation templates were created and shared with the planning team and their networks. To support partnership development and continued user, mentor, and innovator recruitment, additional copy was created for ongoing outreach in identified LinkedIn groups. 4.3 Site Visits An additional aspect of ICTforAg 2024 was the opportunity to participate in site visits at several locations. In Nairobi, the team visited a local Kenyan farm to discuss a number of agricultural topics while also socializing amongst the ICTforAg community (Figure 13). This opportunity was made available to the NextGen Ambassadors and included discussions on earth observation, the use of aircraft versus drones for farm operations, and treatment of crops, as well as a number of other small group topics. Following the Nairobi site visit, the planning team discussed the possibility of including site visits as part of future ICTforAg events. These events would offer conference participants the opportunity to engage in firsthand observation of localized agricultural processes and challenges and additional networking. 21 Figure 13 Nairobi site tour participants discuss agricultural topics onsite 4.4. Communications Highlights The planning team circulated 118+ communications from the ICTforAg LinkedIn, Twitter, and email accounts promoting the event. LinkedIn and Twitter posts were shared by other accounts more than 344 times. The mailing list gained 1,269 subscribers due to communications efforts in the first half of 2024. Table 3 ICTforAg 2024 communications channel analytics Linkedin Twitter (X) Mailchimp (Email) Posts 27 Posts 66 Campaigns 25 Impressions 23,513 Likes 155 Opens 48,268 Shares 115 Retweets 229 Subscribers Gained 1,269 22 5. Scalable Best Practices ICTforAg 2024 showcased a range of innovative practices that contributed to its success. These practices, rooted in strong collaboration, effective project management, and inclusive communication strategies, can serve as scalable models for future ICTforAg events and other similar conferences. This section details these best practices, offering insights into their implementation and potential for scalability. ● Collaborative Framework: Highly collaborative meetings and collegial team efforts (e.g., regular team meetings, including weekly all-team readouts, fostered a collaborative environment) ensured that everyone was aligned and could contribute effectively to the project’s success. CGIAR city leads found weekly group meetings helpful for increasing collaboration and idea generation. Involving the graphic design team early and throughout the project was one of the key success factors. This inclusion ensured that the visual and thematic elements were consistently and effectively integrated. ● Project Management Excellence: The organized and thorough project management approach, including a clear workback schedule and regular communication channels, was instrumental. This ensured that tasks were completed on time and team members were always informed. ● Communication Strategies: Consistent and clear communication through a weekly cadence of meetings and emails, combined with clear agendas and action items for each workstream, facilitated effective communication. This regularity and clarity in communication were pivotal in keeping the team aligned and focused. Centralized email communications using a central email address (contact@ictforag.com) for communications streamlined external interactions and helped maintain consistency in messaging. ● Session and Speaker Management: The coordination of speakers and sessions was meticulously managed, ensuring diverse and engaging content. The website and social media platforms were effectively used to communicate with participants and disseminate information, contributing significantly to the event’s outreach. ● Branding and Aesthetic Appeal: The event’s branding, including its color scheme, graphics, and overall aesthetic, was highly praised. This attention to visual details, as well as a mix of standardized and localized assets for each event location and virtual-only sessions, enhanced the overall participant experience. The "Localizing Impact" theme resonated well with the audience, and its consistent integration across various elements of the conference was effective. ● Diversity and Inclusion: The diversity of speakers, which included youth and young professionals participating in the NextGen Ambassador program, added depth and perspective to the discussions. The tagline themes of inclusion, inspiration, and innovation were integrated into discussions and the operational aspects of the conference, exemplifying a commitment to diversity and desire to highlight conversations and innovations advancing inclusion. ● Technological Integration: The selection of appropriate technology platforms for sessions and communications, such as the efficient management of email chains and technology checks for onsite location technical teams, played a crucial role in the execution of the event. ● Ambassador Program: The NextGen Ambassador Program actively engaged youth and young professionals in the events and provided mutual benefit; ambassadors supported event social 23 media campaigns to promote registration among younger demographics and also benefited from guest speakers, peer and professional networking, and skills training. Ambassadors who received financial support from CGIAR to travel onsite had the opportunity to share their perspectives onstage and also provided event management support, contributing to the event’s success. 6. Upcoming Events ● ICTforAg 2025 (exact dates to be determined) 7. Information on Costs The overall budget for the project was set at $946,197 USD. This budget covered the period from January 11, 2023, to June 28, 2024, encompassing all phases of the conference planning and execution. ● Partner Contributions: Of the total budget, DAI (through USAID Digital Frontiers funding) contributed $211,700 USD, while IFPRI provided a significant cost-share, amounting to $734,496.95 USD. ● CGIAR cost-share was greater than the initial plan of $734,496.95 related to the additional time across CGIAR resources globally, donated event locations, and on-site costs related to event execution including but not limited to food and beverage, printing, and sponsored travel. ● Allocation of Funds: Within the DAI contribution, a substantial portion (85%) was earmarked for event management and execution by DevGlobal, the main implementing partner. ● Required Funds: The 85% of $211,700 USD funds allocated for event management and execution is not adequate to fully fund the activities required to deliver a multi-location hybrid event at the scale of ICTforAg 2024. ● DevGlobal had to additionally provide discounted services and in-kind contributions to ICTforAg 2023 and 2024 estimated at greater than $350,000 USD. Recognizing the ongoing interest and demand from the global ICTforAg community, there is a need for a strategic approach to focus on ensuring the event’s long-term sustainability and success. Future iterations of the conference will likely involve a more concerted effort to raise sponsorship and co-funding. These efforts are essential to meet the increased scale and scope of the conference in response to growing community engagement. CGIAR, in partnership with DevGlobal and its event team, is committed to building a robust financial support framework. This framework will explore diverse funding avenues, including sponsorships, donor funding, and other resources. The objective is not only to sustain the ICTforAg conference series but also to scale it appropriately to meet the evolving needs of the community. This scaling will be underpinned by a solid financial base, ensuring that the conference continues to serve as a pivotal platform for the global ICTforAg community. 24 8. Upcoming/Completed International Travel ● 2024: None planned. ● 2025: To-be-determined based on the decisions of date(s), location(s), and the format of the ICTforAg 2025 event(s). 25 Appendix 1: Virtual Attendance by Session Session Title Virtual Attendees Livestream Views Recording Views Total Session Views Day 1 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Opening Remarks 133 171 46 350 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Celebrating 16 Years of Transforming Data Collection with ODK 173 228 18 419 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Localizing ICT: Empowering and Engaging Small-Scale Producers in the Global South 139 176 31 346 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Localizing AI 120 180 31 331 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Harnessing Analytical Tools for Enhanced Food Security Monitoring (IFPRI) 39 46 3 88 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Leveraging ICT to Empower Smallholder Farmers in the Global Carbon Market (AgriLedger) 37 87 7 131 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Putting Evidence into Practice: Improving Agriculture and Land Tenure Investments (Millennium Challenge Corporation) 11 0 4 15 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Protecting Farmers: Weather-Based Index Insurance (JPAL) 13 0 11 24 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Integrated Digital Solution for Supporting Fishery Sector in Senegal (FHI360) 5 0 2 7 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Bringing Smallholder Farmers' Voice to the Conversation (Producers Direct) 9 1 3 13 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Advancing Resilient Food Systems through ICT: Case Studies from Nigeria and Kenya (Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk and Resilience) 18 44 4 66 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Climate Information & Food Security: Impactful Outcomes of NASA and USAID’s SERVIR Partnership (NASA SERVIR) 11 0 6 17 ICTforAg Washington, DC: AI-Driven Weather Forecasting System (ignitia) 13 27 4 44 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Inspire Challenge 10 48 4 62 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Localizing Knowledge for Sustainable Agriculture 16 44 4 64 ICTforAg Washington, DC: Closing Remarks 6 25 0 31 Day 2 ICTforAg Los Baños: Opening Program 51 70 4 125 ICTforAg Los Baños: Localizing Digital Agriculture for Impact: Policy 40 56 6 102 26 Session Title Virtual Attendees Livestream Views Recording Views Total Session Views Frameworks, Stakeholder Collaborations and Partnerships ICTforAg Los Baños: Integrated Crop Monitoring and Forecasting Using Remote Sensing 31 43 3 77 ICTforAg New Delhi: Opening Program 45 71 13 129 ICTforAg Los Baños: Linking Producers and Consumers through Digital Platforms and Services - Breakout 1A 17 0 3 20 ICTforAg Los Baños: Bridging Gaps and Unlocking Opportunities through Data-Driven Decision-making - Breakout 1B 50 119 5 174 ICTforAg Los Baños: Localizing Internet of Things (IoT) for Agriculture - Breakout 1C 12 0 1 13 ICTforAg New Delhi: Role of ICTforAg: Indian and Global Perspective 45 96 10 151 ICTforAg Los Baños: Localizing the Future of Farming - Breakout 2C 3 0 3 6 ICTforAg Los Baños: Localizing Precision Agriculture - Breakout 2B 25 83 3 111 ICTforAg Los Baños: Digital Farmers Program 41 104 6 151 ICTforAg Nairobi: Inaugural Session 28 2 6 36 ICTforAg New Delhi: Cultivating Connections between Farmers and Scientists 37 72 6 115 ICTforAg Nairobi: It takes a digital village to offer smallholders’ localized content and personalized services to increase their productivity and resilience 80 176 10 266 ICTforAg Los Baños: AgrInnovation: What's next? What else? 31 105 2 138 ICTforAg Hybrid: The Agricultural Information Exchange Platform – Disrupting public extension utilizing generative AI: GIZ 58 82 7 147 ICTforAg New Delhi: Digital platform for Agricultural Transformation 42 29 4 75 ICTforAg Nairobi: Streams of solidarity: A virtual exploration of shared water resources 41 112 4 157 ICTforAg New Delhi: Lightning Talks - Digital and Data Innovation driving agricultural transformation 47 114 16 177 ICTforAg Nairobi: Frontier Technologies in Food Systems 21 3 4 28 ICTforAg Nairobi: Data-Driven Agricultural Innovation 65 123 5 193 ICTforAg Nairobi: Gender and Inclusion 21 0 5 26 ICTforAg New Delhi: Closing Program 18 1 6 25 ICTforAg Nairobi: Influencing farmers ability to use digital product/ service offerings to farmers 46 108 4 158 27 Session Title Virtual Attendees Livestream Views Recording Views Total Session Views ICTforAg Nairobi: Towards Digital Inclusion in Rural Transformation 20 3 3 26 ICTforAg Nairobi: Plenary Talks 52 101 1 154 ICTforAg Nairobi: Unconference: Ecosystem approach, unlocking the full potential of ICT in agriculture 42 103 1 146 ICTforAg Texcoco: Welcome Keynote 18 71 1 90 ICTforAg Texcoco: Artificial intelligence and Agroecology: Addressing complex systems challenges 0 0 0 0 ICTforAg Texcoco: Using generative AI to assist your work 23 58 6 87 ICTforAg Texcoco: Public Policies on Digital Innovation in Latin America 18 50 2 70 ICTforAg Texcoco: Learning Network-ICTforAg 0 0 0 0 ICTforAg Texcoco: Launch: CultivateNext 8 45 2 55 ICTforAg Texcoco: Lightning Talks 26 67 1 94 ICTforAg Texcoco: Redes de colaboración e innovación para la agricultura digital en América Latina 11 1 2 14 ICTforAg Texcoco: Distance Learning with Digital Tools and Empowerment of Small-Holder Farmers 15 54 8 77 ICTforAg Texcoco: Digital Technologies for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Monitoring 37 37 5 79 ICTforAg Texcoco: Role of Public Research Centers in Agriculture and Digital Innovation 3 1 4 8 ICTforAg Texcoco: Remote sensing for smallholder farmers 2 17 2 21 ICTforAg Texcoco: Digital Identity 5 37 4 46 ICTforAg Texcoco: Closing Remarks: Where Are We Headed? Digital Agriculture in Latin America 5 21 3 29 Day 3 ICTforAg Nairobi: Findings and core actions from Unconference event 23 55 1 79 ICTforAg Nairobi: Lightning Talks 53 90 1 144 ICTforAg Nairobi: Experiences from ILRI 72 122 5 199 ICTforAg Nairobi - Collaborative Insights from Kenya Space Agency (KSA) and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) 67 130 3 200 ICTforAg Nairobi: Closing Remarks and Vote of Thanks 0 0 0 0 28 Session Title Virtual Attendees Livestream Views Recording Views Total Session Views ICTforAg Virtual Day: Youth-led and User-Centered Approaches for Enhancing Uptake of Digital Agriculture and Digital Financial Services 8 1 1 10 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Learning Network Community Spotlight 6 0 3 9 ICTforAg Virtual Day: From Sky to Soil: How UAVs and AI are Revolutionizing Plant Phenotyping 1 0 0 1 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Monitoring food security trends in digital spaces: a multi-platform approach to nowcast food insecurity 3 0 1 4 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Sowing Seeds of Digital Self-Determination: Empowering Farmers in the Datafication Era 4 0 0 4 ICTforAg Virtual Day: The PERU-Hub project: Fostering technology transfer and capacity building in the Peruvian Amazon 2 0 1 3 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Towards Sustainable Agriculture 3 0 0 3 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Catalyzing Innovation: Pioneering Concepts to Advance Digital Agriculture Transformation in LMICs 20 81 1 102 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) for High Throughput Field Phenotyping of wheat breeding trialsI in Ethiopia 35 147 1 183 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Certification as a driver for expanding technology for smallholders farms 13 70 1 84 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Krishi Updates - Digital Agriculture Model 5 0 1 6 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Scaling up solutions for crisis response: The power of data 8 1 1 10 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Localizing a Transformative Livestock Data System and Navigating Capacity Gaps: Insight from aLIVE’s Partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture 5 55 5 65 ICTforAg Virtual Day: EmpowerHerAgri: Bridging the Digital Divide and Fostering the Yard-Based Economy through A-Card 11 69 3 83 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Blockchain in Agriculture 20 77 2 99 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Making Digital Tools Work for Farmers: Bridging gender gaps through inclusivity 7 3 3 13 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Bridging the Knowledge Gap for Less Literate Farmers with the Amplio Talking Book 7 37 2 46 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Unlocking international finance to promote agricultural resilience and support smallholder farmers 7 0 0 7 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Unlocking Africa’s Agtech potential: Barriers and opportunities to innovation, investment and impact in Africa’s agricultural sector 25 75 2 102 29 Session Title Virtual Attendees Livestream Views Recording Views Total Session Views ICTforAg Virtual Day: Leveraging precision Agriculture for targeted soil improvement strategies in ASAL region 18 98 2 118 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Localising begins with listening: Engaging (a lot) of farmers through radio, mobiles and AI 12 1 1 14 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Education on digitalization: a key to overcoming challenges in coffee-producing countries 6 1 3 10 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Blended learning platforms for farmer organizations 19 66 1 86 ICTforAg Virtual Day: How UGM’s Digital Extension Society for Agriculture Developed A Successful Digital Extension Platform 'Lentera DESA' To Smallholder Farmers In Indonesia 16 28 1 45 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Harnessing Digital Technologies for Emergency Preparedness and Response to Food Crises 11 64 2 77 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Sovereignty by Design in Agriculture Data Spaces 1 0 0 1 ICTforAg Virtual Day: SoilHive: expanding access to soil data worldwide 3 0 1 4 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Revenue Models for Sustainability Planning for SMS-based agricultural information platforms - The case of Ulimindi Nyengo in Malawi 3 0 0 3 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Leveraging Digital Innovations, Earth Observation and AI to Assess Climate Adaptation in Agriculture 8 43 1 52 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Digital divide, understanding challenges and creating a way forward for Small-holder Farmers (SHF) 17 64 1 82 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Sustainable Digital Agricultural Project 0 0 0 0 ICTforAg Virtual Day: The Future of Agribusiness in Africa: Leveraging Technology to Minimize Post-Harvest Losses 1 0 2 3 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Empowering Climate Resilience: Leveraging ICT for Climate Risk Management in Guatemala - WFP Guatemala’s DRF Package 3 1 0 4 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Empowering Smallholder Farmers through Digital Extension Services: Leveraging ICT for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in Developing Countries 2 0 1 3 ICTforAg Virtual Day: From Space to Field: Revolutionizing Agriculture with Satellite and GIS Technologies 12 29 1 42 ICTforAg Virtual Day: E-learning to facilitate agrifood stakeholders’ adoption of digital solutions and the role of youth 12 45 0 57 ICTforAg Virtual Day: Public Policies as Tools for Digital Transformation in Agriculture (SPANISH) 3 11 1 15 30 Session Title Virtual Attendees Livestream Views Recording Views Total Session Views ICTforAg Virtual Day: What's next for AG supply and value chains? 4 0 3 7 2,489 4,776 418 7,683 31