In December 2020, the African Plant Nutrition institute (APNI) organized and hosted the 1st African Conference on Precision Agriculture (AfCPA) in cooperation with the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA) and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). The mission of the AfCPA was to create an event that would “connect the science and practice needed to put precision agriculture (PA) in action for Africa.”  The AfCPA featured 140 presenters speaking to 750+ registrants representing 50+ countries globally. 
 
AfCPA 2020 was structured as a one conference, multiple-site event. The virtual main program was simulcast to 14 satellite conference sites across the continent. Partner organizations serving as satellite site hosts are listed below.
 
The conference’s hybrid format successfully connected registrants to an international panel of experts while also generating significant discussion on regional PA strategies within the traditional conference venues.

 

There is a growing need to quantify complex interactions of processes for diverse environmental conditions and crop management realities. Any study is worth very little in itself unless its data is being agglomerated with others to express conclusions valid for real use. In order to tear the agronomic data Babel Tower down, there is little alternative but to converge on standards, at least for a minimal set of them. Do you use a standard to construct your agronomic databases? If so, which one? Please fill in this two-question survey. The OFE-C will use the results to start a conversation on agronomic (management practices or treatments, soil and weather data and measurements of crop responses) standards for data and metadata.

 

Are you aware of actual reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) production consecutive to the application of precision agriculture solutions? We are seeking measured, actual, GHG reduction resulting from precision agriculture technologies or approaches. Many papers have reported estimations or projections but we are looking for direct evaluations. Should you be aware of anything along these lines, please email us. Thanks a lot.

The On-Farm Experimentation Community (OFE-C) focuses on: 1) compiling practical, applied, proven-to-be-useful resources; 2) connecting practitioners to a “1-go-to” source of information. The OFE-C will concentrate on four elements of on-farm experimentation:

• Creation/sharing of value and intellectual property
• Farmer-centric, co-learning and social aspects
• Data, metadata, analytics, modelling, artificial intelligence
• Transformation through policy, legislation and investment

Which of these aspects of on-farm experimentation are of interest to you? Let us know by filling this one-question survey.
 

See the ISPA website for a complete list of events.

Do you have an event that would be of interest to our members? Send us an email to let us know.

• Open Rank Faculty - Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture - Director, University of Georgia
• Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Farming Systems Agronomy
• Tenure Track Assistant Professor in soil spectroscopy at Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University
• Senior Lecturer/ Lecturer of Digital Pasture Production
• Ph.D. Graduate Assistantship Position - University of Kentucky
• Tenure-track Assistant Professor - Artificial Intelligence in Agricultural and Forestry Informatics University of Tennessee
• Precision Agriculture Cohort Hiring Initiative, including the Position of Endowed Chair

Do you have a precision ag event, project, or news article that our members would be interested in? Please let us know. We post events, job opportunities, and news from members from around the globe. Email info@ispag.org or use the handy online form to submit your contribution.