How can Open Data help to solve long-standing problems in agriculture and nutrition? - ODBMS.org

"Good question. The planet’s resources are under growing pressure to provide food, fuel, fodder and fibre for a rapidly increasing global population, while at the same time adapting to climate change, the threat from invasive species and water shortages. You could say we are careering headlong towards the perfect storm and that unless we come up with innovative ways to ensure sustainable food security, we are heading for Armageddon. The ambitious agenda set out recently in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (see https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics) requires unprecedented global collaboration and problem-solving, and calls for systems of data gathering and performance monitoring to ensure that all interventions are based on the best available evidence. Fortunately, technology can play an important part in realising the vision of the SDGs: a global data infrastructure is emerging and, with innovative business models and international political will, now is the time to invest in open data-driven solutions in agriculture and nutrition. The GODAN (Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition) initiative (www.godan.info) was launched at a G8 international conference in 2013, calling upon nations and relevant stakeholders to promote policies and invest in projects that open access to publicly funded global agriculturally relevant data streams, making such data readily accessible to users in Africa and world-wide, and ultimately supporting a sustainable increase in food security in developed and developing countries. Many nations signed up to the GODAN Statement of Purpose, and during 2014 they agreed to set up an international Secretariat, now hosted by my organization, CABI, which would work to advocate for Open Data, provide case studies and evidence of the effectiveness of Open Data and coordinate working groups to address specific problems in agriculture and nutrition ..."