E-zemjodelst
National e-government platform facilitating farmers' access to market information and agrometeorological data
Description
The national e-agriculture platform is a tool of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of North Macedonia to provide access to the latest information tools for spatial, climatic and market information in the field of agriculture in one place. The platform is composed of different sections: “My Farm” is the section to store and process farm management data; the “Maps” section is to gather and visualize agro-meteorological data; the "Meteor" and "Reports" sections are to make available the most modern spatial tools for accessing geo-location services, including spatially agrometeorological data from the national "Agrometeo" platform. Meanwhile, within the framework of the "Reporting" section, a national tool for "citizen science" is being activated, where the public can directly notify and contribute to the management of pests and other adverse events in agriculture. All institutions, farmers, scientists and the general public have access to national and international spatial data for the country. The platform offers accessibility to essential national digital systems and the goal is to improve data for policy-making and facilitate the transition towards more productive and sustainable agriculture in line with sustainable development goals.
Technology
The e-agriculture web platform includes the "My Farm" tool, empowering farmers to maintain records of input costs and income for their agricultural activities. This tool allows producers to enhance the management of their agricultural operations at no cost. Beyond record-keeping, the tool allows to generate automated reports for assessing the profitability of different agricultural products. This feature facilitates planning and decision-making processes to enhance productivity while minimizing the use of environmentally harmful production materials. The "Maps" section of the E-agriculture platform includes the Earth Map tool, that is based on Open Foris, a set of free and open-source software tools that facilitates flexible and efficient data collection, analysis and reporting. The Earth Map grants access to national and international agroecological spatial data for institutions, farmers, scientists, and the general public. These resources are conveniently available in one centralized location. Notably, the platform introduces innovative features such as the National Spatial Database within the global Earth Map platform.
Target
The main users of the E-agriculture web platform are farmers, scientists and general public.
Business model
The e-agriculture web platform is free for the users. The platform has been created with the support of FAO.
Impact
The e-agriculture web platform provides access to the latest information tools for spatial, climatic and market information in the field of agriculture and supports farmers to improve management as well as productivity, reducing the use of the production of materials that pollute the environment. The platform also aims at facilitating the transition towards more productive and sustainable agriculture in line with sustainable development goals.
Partners
FAO; Agency for financial support in agriculture and rural development; Regional Rural Development Standing Group; ZPIS;
Four Betters
Better production
