From labor-intensive to knowledge-intensive agriculture. With new knowledge and technology, can a modernized agriculture sector end world hunger and achieve food security?

Agriculture is at a crossroads now. Resource base is shrinking, productivity is declining, and efforts to produce more food are adversely affecting the environment more than ever. It is in this context that development organizations have renewed its pledge to build a hunger-free world within the next 15 years as one of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2). The key question, however, is how to produce more food to achieve SDG 2.

Available evidence suggests that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), innovative approaches to knowledge sharing and learning, and new knowledge in agriculture play a pivotal role in building a hunger-free world.

However, farmers’ lack of access to appropriate knowledge and technology is a main roadblock. The appropriate approach, mechanism, and institution to deliver the knowledge and technology to farmers are yet to be developed. ADB's workshop on Knowledge-Intensive Agriculture aimed to leverage knowledge solutions for agricultural transformation. The workshop explored ongoing initiatives, current and emerging trends, policy imperatives, and future directions in this area. It provided a platform to share learning from past success and failures and to exchange ideas on how to develop, disseminate and deliver appropriate knowledge and technology to farmers to build a knowledge-intensive agriculture sector.