Day 1: Major challenges from a policy legal and ethical perspective, preventing smallholder farmers benefiting from data sharing
Which major gaps and challenges would you identify in the current scenario from a policy, legal and ethical perspective, which prevent smallholder farmers and communities from benefiting from data-driven agriculture?
1a: Challenges related to accessing data
1b: Challenges related to sharing data
Please focus on the policy, legal and ethical challenges. State the major challenges in a concise and general way, but if possible provide specific examples and say which actors are involved (who benefits, who doesn’t, which actors are perceived as not fulfilling their role).
Focus on the challenges at this stage, not the possible solutions.
Quelles sont les principales lacunes et difficultés identifiées dans le scénario actuel d'un point de vue politique, juridique et éthique, qui empêchent les petits agriculteurs et les communautés de tirer parti de l'agriculture axée sur les données?
1a: Défis liés à l'accès aux données
1b: Défis liés au partage de données
Veuillez-vous concentrer sur les défis politiques, juridiques et éthiques. Énoncez les principaux défis de manière concise et générale, mais si possible, donnez des exemples précis et indiquez quels acteurs sont impliqués (qui en bénéficie, qui ne le fait pas, quels acteurs sont perçus comme ne remplissant pas leur rôle).
Focus sur les défis à ce stade, pas les solutions possibles.
Cuáles son los mayores vacíos y retos que Usted identifica en el escenario actual desde una perspectiva política, legal y ética, que impiden a pequeños agricultores y comunidades beneficiarse de la agricultura basada en datos?
1a: Retos relacionados con el acceso a los datos
1b: Retos relacionados con compartir los datos
Por favor enfóquese en los retos políticos, legales y éticos. Mencione los mayores retos de manera concisa, y de ser posible, de ejemplos específicos y mencione qué actores están involucrados (quiénes se benefician, quiénes no y qué actores se consideran que no cumplen del todo con su rol)Concéntrese en los retos y no en dar posibles soluciones.
A key considertation here is, in my opinion, how countries aggregate that data from a multiplicity of players with differing (and sometimes competing) demands. There is need for not just a policy framework on how developing countries deal with this, but an entire strategy detailing this data is processed and in what form it is made available to consumers, especially the smallholder farmers. This is important because accessibility may not necessarily mean that smallholder farmers are able to make us of data. In Uganda for instance, farmers can access weather information (in some cases using basic mobile phones) but the data is complicated for that consumer to make any sense of. Accessibility and consumption are inseparable. Ordinarily, the data should be going to the Ministry of Agriculture for interpreation (and translation where applicable), packaging for different regions and value chains and disseminated using various channels that smallholder farmers can access.
The private sector and the development agencies have personalised data that they collect from the farmers. Some of this information is actually quite personal and private. Irrespective of the ethical dimensions that can be cited in this regard, these entities do not make this data available in most cases. They hold it as critical trade information to leverage in competing for markets and/or projects from the donor agencies. It is not even available in any form for use and sharing by the people from whom it was collected. This presents both a legal and ethical challenges related to how smallholders are treated in the iformation/data market place.
Benificial data was almost available even 30-40 years back.What the people of each society wants is that they shall not acess the individuals,records.
About 80 percent of African countries governance have not been able to provide infrastructures for data storage as farmers information corner, resources such as personnel that collect data and inform their governments are not available for it due to budget constrain for the past 30 years, the ICT policy exist but do not accommodate and linked to farmers, mobile network are trying their best without government support on data for information, for price awareness and for crop production improvement. This is crucial and has decreased severely the power of African countries to feed other continents. Small holders are ready to work on any available information that can lead them to more production and benefiting from accessing markets where possible.
Good morning all from Lagos, Nigeria. Pardon me for joining this discussion very late and this is attributed to the level of infrastructure that prompt effective access to data.
The peculiarity of this discussion in Nigeria could take some of the discussants afar backward because of the level of poor infrastructures in most rural and peri-urban communities. Most smallholder farmers who are majorly in these communities lack access to data due to poor or epileptic power supply and level of awareness and hence agricultural data and innovation take longer time to reach the farmers or might not even access. However, the causative agent of this challenge is the level of government leadership in our nation.