STELAR at the UN: How Digital Ecosystems and AI Help Food Security?
Food security is at the core of the STELAR project’s mission, so it can be said that the project began its second year with a bang. That is because our partner VISTA co-organised a United Nations General Assembly side event in New York on September 12th! The discussion focused on how digital solutions, and more specifically AI, can help sustainable agricultural production.
VISTA presented their yield forecasts in the context of food security, thus also presenting STELAR’s endeavour of developing advanced data management methods for early crop growth prediction.
Urgent Need for Sustainable Agricultural Production
The event “Shifting Gears for Food Security – How Digital Ecosystems and AI Foster Sustainability and Resilience to Achieve SDG II.” took a look at the current agricultural landscape and the problems plaguing it. The speakers highlighted the following factors:
These issues mean there is an urgent need for substantially better harvest results than the ones we currently have. To be more precise, the needs that were highlighted at the event were:
- Better and sustainable agricultural production
- Adaptable global food supply chains
- Decreased level of food loss and waste
- Better access to nutritious food for the poor population
The problems at hand, and the need arising from them led to the question: Can digitised ecosystems help with risk mitigation and provide food security?
The Importance of Digital Ecosystems for Food Security
The event, a joint organisational effort by VISTA and SAP, explored the ways in which digital solutions help achieve UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG II). As the UN’s website states, Goal 2 aims to “end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”.
Source: sdgs.un.org
VISTA’s CEO Heike Bach and SAP’s Global Vice President Agribusiness and Commodity Management Anja Strothkaemper explained how digital ecosystems, digital twin technology, Earth Observation data, and AI help improve sustainability and resilience in the food value chain.
More precisely, STELAR project consortium member Heike Bach held a presentation which underlined that AI-ready data can aid the fight for food security, as there are enough resources to feed the world’s population – they just need to be properly harvested. VISTA was a great choice to tackle the subject, as it is the leading provider of digital solutions for sustainable management of the water-energy-food nexus.
VISTA CEO Heike Bach presented STELAR at the UN General Assembly side event
Solution in Sight: Harvesting Sustainable Agricultural Practices
The attendees had the chance to learn which parts of the agricultural industry can be taken to a new level.
Digitalisation can lead to sustainable agricultural production, as it can provide:
- Accurate and current crop production data
- Independent information on crop production
- Highly detailed food security data
Those present at the event were introduced to the way digital solutions can observe different area levels – from individual farms to entire countries.
STELAR’s Mission
The STELAR project, co-funded by the European Union, is focusing on “tidying up” the agrifood data space by developing a Knowledge Lake Management System (KLMS) fit for today’s agrifood data needs.
One of its focuses is to fight yield loss and food insecurity. There is a possibility that this can be achieved by early crop growth predictions, which is exactly the topic of STELAR project’s Pilot 2, headed by VISTA.
STELAR share’s the events aim – using digital ecosystems and AI to provide useful insights and data which help agricultural management and risk predictions, leading the way to food security and agricultural export management.
VISTA CEO Heike Bach together with BayWa’s CIO Tobias Fausch
In Good Company
Along with representatives from VISTA and SAP, other speakers and panellists were present to share their insight, as well: Ralf Bredel, Director and Representative to UN Headquarters, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Niels S., Industrial Development Officer, Agro-Innovation and Bioeconomy Department, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as Tobias Fausch, CIO, BayWa AG.
Source: ungaguide.com
Needless to say, the STELAR project is looking forward to other endeavours where our partners will tackle the topic of sustainable agricultural practices. Until then, follow us on LinkedIn to stay in loop!
