FAO Digital Services Portfolio (DSP)
Platform for the provision of advisory services to smallholder farmers
DescriptionOverview of the initiative and its approach.
The FAO Digital Services Portfolio (DSP) has been designed for the dissemination of information to the food and agriculture and related sectors and to scale up the provision of agricultural services to smallholders and family farmers to promote their digital inclusion. The key features of the platform include weather forecasts with alerts, livestock management advice, commodity pricing information and nutritional guidance. Designed as a flexible digital public good, the platform is easy to use and customizable to meet different needs, and has been incorporated with such additional features as plant disease recognition functions in Georgia or animal feed calculators in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
TechnologyTechnology used by the initiative.
The DSP platform comprises a progressive web application (PWA) for farmers and a backend platform through which organizations can upload and disseminate content. It is cloud-based and uses APIs to fetch weather forecasts and market prices, primarily from FAO FPMA, while leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence in some countries for the identification of plant pests and diseases.
TargetUsers, groups, or communities targeted by the initiative.
The FAO DSP has been designed specifically for smallholders and family farmers, farm advisors and rural communities around the globe, although the specific targets may vary depending on the country of implementation and the specific value chains of the target. For example, in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan it has been designed specifically to deliver messages to small-scale livestock farmers.
Business modelHow the initiative delivers and sustains its value.
The FAO DSP has been designed specifically as a Digital Public Good (DPG). Contributing to the fulfilment of FAO’s technical assistance goals, interested national bodies, research organizations and NGOs can utilize the solutions for the delivery of agricultural information and advisory services to farmers. In some countries, such as Senegal and Rwanda, the platform is handled by national bodies, whereas in others, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the platform is managed by farmers’ associations. Access to the platform’s information and services is provided at no cost.
ImpactThe observed or intended effects of the initiative.
The FAO DSP provides useful data, information and statistics to smallholder farmers and rural communities, providing them with digital agriculture advice leveraging the knowledge of different countries, FAO and strategic partners through a digital medium.
PartnersOrganizations and stakeholders involved in the initiative.
Yessal AgriHub
Four BettersThe FAO Four Betters supported by the initiative.
Better production
Better nutrition
Better life
