Pariksha SaathiIndia Hosts Second Meeting of UN Global Initiative on AI for Agri-Food Systems at India Mobile Congress 2026
The second meeting of the Global Initiative on AI for Agri-Food Systems (GI-AI4FS), a United Nations initiative, took place in New Delhi alongside India Mobile Congress 2026, the Department of Telecommunications reported on 10 October 2026. India's Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) under DoT hosted it together with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The initiative is coordinated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and works closely with three Rome-based UN food agencies — the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Around 70 delegates attended in person and 25 online, including officials, researchers, industry and standards bodies. Discussions centred on how connected sensors, weather stations, drones, satellites and AI analytics can support precision farming, early detection of crop disease, better use of water and inputs, traceability and lower post-harvest losses. The meeting was preceded by a two-day international hackathon on AI for agri-food systems at the ICAR campus in New Delhi on 8–9 October, whose winning teams presented their solutions at the meeting.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies. It was established in 1865 to manage the first international telegraph networks, which makes it the oldest agency in the UN family, and it is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Reference: ITU's official 'About ITU' page
Check yourself: ITU is older than the United Nations itself — true or false?
True. ITU was founded in 1865, long before the UN was set up in 1945; it later became a UN specialised agency.
Revision task: list the four UN bodies named in this item (ITU, FAO, IFAD, WFP), with the headquarters city of each, and note which one coordinates GI-AI4FS.
Test yourself
The UN's Global Initiative on AI for Agri-Food Systems (GI-AI4FS), whose second meeting was held in New Delhi, is coordinated by which international body?
Show the answer
Answer: ITU
GI-AI4FS is coordinated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), working closely with FAO, IFAD and WFP; the second meeting was hosted by DoT's Telecommunication Engineering Centre together with ICAR.
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