Open data access, crucial to achieving food security in developing countries - IFPRI - Voice of Nigeria

ab1630's bookmarks 2018-04-28

Summary:

"The International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI says open access to data can help in achieving food and nutrition security in developing countries. According to an official with IFPRI, Shelleka Darby open access can improve the policy decisions that shape food systems and national security. “Stakeholders, entrepreneurs, policy makers and political leaders across the global economy are harnessing ever-expanding datasets for a wide array of purposes including reducing hunger and malnutrition. But pursuing those goals requires evidence-based decision making, and that depends on widespread open access to relevant data” she explained. Darby added that wealthy countries had ample capacity to collect large databases and apply the accumulated knowledge they contain to create advanced tools and technologies. She however, said that developing countries often lacked consistent access to data due to limited infrastructure and capacity for collection, processing, management, and quality control. “Data is at the foundation of decision-making throughout food systems. Producers depend on knowledge of inputs and climate trends; policymakers use data to ascertain efficiency and estimate needs; and retailers rely on data on market trends and prices. Used well, data serves to ensure and improve efficiency along the entire value chain. Access to accurate information or datasets also empowers policy makers to prepare and respond to natural disasters, anticipate economic challenges, and map trends to determine necessary course corrections. Accurate and open data can amplify the ability to support innovations and make salient policy decisions,” she explained. Another official of the research institute, Indira Yerramareddy explained that opening up data access in the developing world would take sustained efforts by institutional data curators and those in need of technology to accelerate the collection and dissemination of accurate information. “Curators, for instance, can reduce barriers by selecting Open Licenses as the default setting for their data. IFPRI and other research organizations that work in partnership with governments recognize the importance of providing open access data as a tool for global policymaking.” She added According to Yerramareddy , efforts to support better access to data and data-based tools showed how developed and developing countries could integrate their knowledge capital adding that available and usable data would help reduce the global digital divide and poverty, food and nutrition security for all."

Link:

https://www.von.gov.ng/open-data-access-crucial-to-achieving-food-security-in-developing-countries-ifpri/

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » ab1630's bookmarks

Tags:

oa.new oa.food oa.nutrition oa.data oa.reuse oa.south oa.food_security oa.policies oa.government oa.development oa.licensing oa.libre oa.benefits

Date tagged:

04/28/2018, 11:04

Date published:

04/28/2018, 07:04