The Challenge

There is an expectation that data-driven farming will increase agricultural production and productivity, help adapt to or mitigate the effects of climate change, and bring about a more economical use of natural resources. These changes would reduce risk and improve resilience in farming, and make agri-food market chains much more efficient. However, many farmers are not harnessing the power of data because of unequal access to quality data and fear of exposure to unfair use of data collected on the farm. To address these challenges, the ethical, legal and policy aspects related to farmers’ data and farmers’ access to data are now seen as key.

The Solution

After publishing two papers on data ownership and responsible use of data in 2016, GODAN, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR) and the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA),  initiated a consultation process, starting with a workshop and symposium involving 47 participants in Centurion, South Africa, in November 2017. The purpose of the process was to explore the main challenges and opportunities of harnessing the power of data for farmers, to recommend strategies and priority areas of intervention at the legal/policy level and to act on these recommendations.

In 2018, the process continued with a series of six co-convened Webinars on farmers’ access to data, with over 200 participants and more than 600 viewers in total. As a result, a white paper on “Digital and Data-Driven Agriculture: Harnessing the Power of Data for Smallholders” was published, which attracted over 1000 views and more than 300 downloads. Subsequently, a staff position to undertake research on data rights was created  within the GODAN Secretariat, funded by the Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V. (KTBL).

An online debate was held in June 2018 and an international expert consultation, hosted by the German Federal Office of Agriculture and Food (BLE), took place in Bonn from 10-11 July, 2018. The expert consultation saw the creation of a common vision document and action plan, building on the results of the online consultation and previous publications. Experts from the World Farmers’ Organisation, the European Agricultural Machinery Association (CEMA), Rikolto, the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, the German Federal Office of Agriculture and Food, GIZ, the Uganda Agribusiness Association, CSIR South Africa, the Georgia Association for Farmers Rights Defense, the Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental, WUR, the Zimbabwe Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) and other independent consultants agreed to continue refining the common vision and action plan, to broaden the network and jointly look for funding to implement the action plan.

The Outcome

This process culminated in an online consultation with over 50 participants and 150 interventions held in June, and an international expert consultation held in Bonn on 10 and 11 July, hosted by the German Federal Office of Agriculture and Food (BLE). Participants in the expert consultation worked on a common vision document and a more immediate common action plan, building on the results of the online consultation and on previous publications. Experts from numerous institutions took part in the discussions: the World Farmers’ Organisation, CEMA, Rikolto, the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA), the German Federal Office of Agriculture and Food (BLE), the German Society for International Co-operation (GIZ), the Uganda Agribusiness Association, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) South Africa, the Georgia Association for Farmers Rights Defense (AFRD), the Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the Zimbabwe Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT). Along with a number of independent consultants, they agreed to continue refining the common vision and action plan, to broaden the network and jointly look for funding to implement this.