The United Nations has a key catalytic role to play in leveraging the power of digital technologies, which is of utter importance particularly in rural areas, for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) QU Dongyu said today. He addressed a High-Level United Nations Dialogue on the Progress and Future of Digital Cooperation.
In his remarks, Qu noted that agriculture is one of the world’s biggest challenges, because digitally rural areas are lagging behind in any country of the world, and it is time to bridge this digital gap between urban and rural areas.
“Digitalization is reshaping our world at its very core, and is having a deep impact on our societies and economies, and our mindsets,” he said stressing that digitalization may have a significant positive effect on agrifood systems transformation to make them more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable to serve for four betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
However, he pointed out that new emerging issues related to safe and ethical use of digital agriculture should be taken into consideration. This is crucial “to ensure a holistic perspective and an open, free and secure digital future for all as outlined by the Global Digital Compact and other key UN led initiatives towards which we are working together.”