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Register now to #OFE2021
Register now for a virtual attendance and no later than October 8. Discounts are available for ISPA members, students, attendees from low and middle-income countries, non-profit organizations, farmers, and farmer organizations.
#OFE2021
The First Conference on Farmer-Centric On-farm Experimentation — Digital Tools for a Scalable Transformative Pathway was held on October 13th-15th 2021 in Montpellier, France.
Purpose
- To share global experience of farmer-centric On-Farm Experimentation (OFE)
- To explain the innovation process that OFE represents, as an alternative to the top-down, researcher-directed process that currently predominates
- How OFE creates value to sustain itself;
- The alternative innovation pathways of the OFE bottom-up processes;
- How OFE offers a pathway for valorising digital technologies in agriculture; and
- The interplay between OFE practice on the ground and supporting policy and investment.
Format of the Conference
- Conference presentation format for 100–150 delegates to share information around four themes. See the program here. In addition, 200 delegates attending by video-streaming are expected.
- Two-day (13th-14th of October) information sharing from global specialists about current developments in digital agriculture, value creation, innovation systems and policy landscapes surrounding OFE. French/English translation.
- Third day (15th of October) field tour and focus session to pull down key messages and critical requirements for policy change to support farmer-centric digital transformation.
Expected outputs
- Framework for OFE that identifies transformational value processes; organisation for social capitalisation; functions for digital technologies and linkages to policy, legislation and investment
- Technical summary for policy-makers
- Network of specialists to execute further steps in OFE development
Recordings of the #OFE2021 May Webinar Series are Available
The four #OFE2021 webinars recordings are now available at https://www.ispag.org/Events/OFE both in full-length and in individual presentations formats.
Value Creation. OFE creates value for varied stakeholders, value is shared, and scientific disciplines can contribute.
People and Processes. People are the real key to digital transformation. Transformation occurs when individual changes scale up through their networks and their organizations.
Data and Analytics. Appropriate procedures and well-targeted analytics can be deployed to exploit the valuable data and metadata collected on the farm.
Policy Linkages. Currently, initiatives around OFE are happening in spite of funding mechanisms, career paths and norms favoring traditional experimentation. Harnessing the transformational potential of OFE for agricultural sciences and innovation requires more strategic institutional alignment.
Convenors
- Dr. Véronique Bellon Maurel, INRAE, Director of #DigitAg, France
- Dr. Nicolas Tremblay, International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), Canada
- Prof. Simon Cook, Murdoch University, Centre for Digital Agriculture, Australia
Supported by
The conference is supported by the OECD Co-operative Research Program (CRP) “Biological resource management for sustainable agricultural systems,” under Theme 3 — Transformational technologies and innovation. It is organised by INRAE Montpellier and the On-Farm Experimentation Community (OFE-C) of the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA).
Support is also provided by Agropolis Foundation, Occitanie Region, MUSE (Montpellier University of Excellence), Agreenium, #Digitag, RMT NAEXUS, RMT Modelia and Occitanum.
The International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA) is a non-profit professional scientific organization.
The mission of ISPA is to advance the science of precision agriculture globally.
Contact ofec@ispag.org or visit www.ispag.org for more about the Society