1.4

By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.

Enabling smallholders to gain access to microfinance and the opportunity to make the most profitable and sustainable use of opportunities afforded them by the agrifood industry is an important objective of TC 347. See strategic objective 3.17.

2.3

By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.

The standards planned by TC 347 are meant to enable better data interoperability in the agrifood industry. An expected positive outcome from this is that it will become easier for technologists in the Global South to develop tools to provide agronomic advice, risk management, and other valuable agricultural tools that can increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agrifood systems, including the ones involving vulnerable smallholder farmers and ranchers.

2.4

By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.

The standards planned by TC 347 are meant to enable better data interoperability in the agrifood industry. An expected positive outcome from this is that it will become easier to capture, represent, and unambiguously communicate measurements, decisions and activities regarding agroecosystem health and productivity.

2.5

By 2030, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.

The standards planned by TC 347 are meant to enable better data interoperability in the agrifood industry. This includes enabling better recordkeeping and management of germplasm.

3.9

By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.

The standards planned by TC 347, with their emphasis on accurate and unambiguous crop input identification, can contribute to soil monitoring and health, and also to minimize worker exposure to dangerous agrochemicals, by enabling machine-actionable, digital product labels that can be leveraged to warn workers of the need to use specific personal protective equipment, warn them of unexpired restricted entry and pre-harvest intervals, etc. See strategic objectives 2.2, 3.4, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9 for more detail.

4.4

By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

6.3

By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.

Multiple opportunities here: enabling spot application / targeted spraying of agricultural chemicals, better testing and management of field runoff and tailwater quality, increased ability to keep chemical applications label-compliant.

6.4

By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity.

Multiple opportunities to enable scientific irrigation scheduling, and better water use efficiency in agricultural and food manufacturing processes.

This target is enabled by interoperability of observations and measurements (in this case, of water content, pumped water, water levels, and evapotranspiration model inputs and outputs), and by better tracking of the field operations such as application of irrigation water and crop harvest, all core themes of the SAG-SF.

By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

TC 347 standards can enable

• estimating carbon intensity of agricultural and food production at scale (See strategic objectives 3.2 and 3.19) and
• optimizing the timing (e.g. to off-peak) and execution of energy-intensive operations (e.g. pumping, see strategic objectives 3.2 and 3.4).

By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support.

TC 347 standards can enable planning, coordination, and optimization of biofuels production and on-farm electrical production (agrivoltaics). See strategic objectives 3.4, 4.3, 4.10.

8.3

Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.

8.4

Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead.

This target is enabled by interoperability of observations and measurements (in this case, of nutrient levels, water content, crop and livestock conditions, etc.), and by better tracking of the field operations such as application of irrigation water, crop nutrition and crop protection products, as well as crop harvest, all core themes of TC 347.

9.1

Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.

9.3

Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets.

Many of the capabilities considered by the SAG-SF, and the recommendations resulting from them, targeted smallholders, their advisors and the manufacturers and distributors of inputs and tooling, directly or indirectly. In the case of this particular target, enabling access to new technology, financial services and microfinance (and the data privacy policies and terms and conditions that underlie them) is among TC 347’s strategic objectives.

9.4

By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities.

Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.

By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.

TC 347’s scope includes controlled environment agriculture (e.g., greenhouses and vertical farms), as well as urban farming and the reclamation of urban plots for agricultural use. These activities have the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of cities by producing some of the cities’ food needs (typically vegetables) locally. See strategic objective 3.3.

By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels.

TC 347 has begun discussions with ISO/TC 207 on jointly developing implementation guidelines and other deliverables to help communities with climate adaptation of urban and rural agricultural systems. See strategic objective 3.1.

12.2

By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

ISO/TC 347 standards will enable accurate records of agricultural and food production, as well as digital twins / accurate representations of the processes occurring therein, will translate into more accurate crop input purchases and applications, since there can be more accurate estimates of areas to treat, amounts of chemicals and fertilizers needed, etc. In this way the release of excess products into the environment is minimized. Likewise, by enabling smart spraying, adaptive soil-infiltration-limited irrigation, and so forth, the likelihood of products going off-target through wind drift, runoff, etc. is minimized.

12.3

By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.

12.4

By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

12.8

By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.

The saying “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” applies here. TC 347’s emphasis on enabling principled decision-making involves a range of activities such as enabling unambiguous communication of observations and measurements, making agrifood systems data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR), and effectively communicating results and opportunities to stakeholders. See strategic objectives 2.6, 2.7, 3.10, 3.15, 3.16, 3.27, 4.3 and 4.6.

13.1

Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

These standards seek to enable data-driven decision-making based on observations and measurements; through unambiguous identification of resources such as products, places and people; and through the accurate representation of planned and actual operations in the field. In a context of changing rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and other forms of change that require making changes to crop and food production practices, a) making unambiguous plans, and b) aligning them with the quantitative reality observed, are important enablers of adaptation.

13.2

Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

This target is enabled by establishing a data model that unambiguously expresses the quantitative elements and goals usable within national policies, strategies and planning.

14.1

By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

The standards planned by TC 347 can support this target by enabling traceable, interoperable data on agricultural inputs and practices (e.g., fertilizer, pesticide, and plastic use). With standardized data flows, it becomes easier to monitor and reduce nutrient runoff and agrochemical pollution entering rivers and coastal waters, thereby helping control eutrophication and plastics leakage into the ocean.

14.7

By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.

Through standardized agrifood and fisheries data systems, the standards planned by TC 347 can help Small Island developing States and least developed countries build trustworthy value chains, improve market access, and attract investment. Data standards enhance traceability of fish and aquaculture products, support certification for sustainability, and improve resource management—leading to higher value capture while ensuring long-term sustainability of marine resources. See strategic objective 3.26.

15.3

By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.

TC 347’s planned standards can enable interoperable soil and land-use data systems, making it easier to track soil health, detect degradation, and measure restoration progress. Standardized data from farms, satellites, and monitoring programs can feed into consistent national and global reporting, helping countries demonstrate progress toward land degradation neutrality. See strategic objectives 3.4, 3.10, 3.18, 3.23 and 4.9.

15.4

By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.

By enabling scalable, harmonized data collection and sharing on biodiversity, farming practices, and ecosystem services in fragile mountain areas, the standards planned by TC 347 can improve monitoring of pressures such as overgrazing, deforestation, or unsustainable crop expansion. Better data comparability across regions supports more effective conservation strategies and sustainable resource use in mountain ecosystems. See strategic objectives 3.4, 3.10, and 4.9.

15.5

Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

Standards for agrifood biodiversity data, land-use classification, and ecosystem monitoring can help identify trends in habitat conversion or species decline linked to agricultural practices. With consistent, high-quality data enabled by the standards planned by TC 347, policymakers, businesses, and conservation groups can take coordinated action to reduce harmful impacts, promote biodiversity-friendly farming, and monitor progress against biodiversity loss. See strategic objectives 3.4, 3.10, and 4.9.