This online consultation showed that it is a very good opportunity for all of us
coming from different areas of expertise and knowledge to discuss ,exchange
opininos, information, also learn  and of course propose scenarios and if possible solutions, for the smallholder farmers in the data driven agriculture.

The 4th day of consultation is about which  actions to be taken in 2018-2021 to
ensure smallholder farmers benefit from agricultural data in the future.

In my opinion and I agree completely with Robert Katende before talking about the
future,we should think first about the present and current situation in
agriculture. How did we get here and what do we already know.

In order to give information to farmers first we must have it ourselves!

Studying case studies is very important, as very well pointed Simone van der Burg.I agree
100% and I think that only then we can see in practise which problems,needs and
gaps the farmers are facing  in their every day work.Then we can focus on best practises and solutions.

Leanne Wiseman also said that by studying  cases they discovered that there were very different attitudes in each industry to what data they needed to access and what data they wanted to share and how best to go forward.

These next years 2018-2021 we should focus on how we can transfer knowledge to
farmers about agriculture data,the benefits of it,their rigths.

We should be more informed about the national law in the developing countries about data in agriculture ,also it would be nice if we search the legislation in other countries about data such as in Germany(lawabout open data),South Korea (public data) and use it as a guide.And of course we should’nt forget the GDPR. Yes some of it may be not be applicable but I think that a lot should be taken into consideration (consent, data rights such portability right ,the right to object, codes of conduct, fines, transperancy).

The government of each country should get more involved by supporting financial and by law the establishment of any scenario of data sharing in agriculture,by collecting accurate farmer information so the farmer can have access (platforms). Governments should also adopt policies that oblige companies to ensure that smallholders actively participate and have a voice in every step of development of digital agriculture.That there is
legislation that protects the farmer’s rights.

“Organised data communities” should be developed as Thembani Malapela suggested.

The role of agricultural organisations should be more empowered by legislation in order to represent farmers to stakeholders and agribusinesses ,negotiating data access on their behalf and assure farmers interest when they are negotiating the terms of a contract.

As I already mentioned in day 1 there should be also concern about the contacts and their policies. There should be binding rules concerning contracts so the farmer could be more informed and  more protected.

Valeria mentioned the EU Code of conduct  that gives a good example of  how developing
'best practice'  in data sharing can help to build trust farmers and agri-businesses  to ensure that data sharing arrangements are more transparent and equitable.

Leane Wiseman also referred to the introduction of Unfair Terms legislation to protect smaller businesses against the terms and conditions imposed by larger companies by their use of standard form contracts that contain terms that are presented on a 'take it or leave it' basis eg with smart farming technologies - farmers enter into these contracts when software is downloaded or farm machinery is turned on. 

 Legal rights that guarantee open access, processes and some form of proprietary ownership should be given to small holder farmers, so that they no longer  consider digital technology as an “enemie”,but as something that they own and they can use and benefit from it.

I couldn’t akwoledge the importance and achievements but also the challenges of technology and more specific in agriculture. Besides that’s mostly  the purpose of this online consultation. It would be good to work on finding the possibilities and provide
safeguards such as blockchain by consulting ICT specialists, empowering farmers
to minimize risks.

During the online consultation someone posed the question if agricultural/farm data is
sufficient meritorious of a new indipendent treaty or the international shift
such as the GDPR are sufficient to provide coverage for the issues arising from
the increasing collection, aggragation and dissemination of agricultural data.

I found the question quite interesting. In my opinion now more than ever these next
years we should work more on legislation in national and international level, set
the legal framework and policies and provide the farmers the  knwoledge about their rights, the legal form of an agricultural organisation and their organised data communities, the information of a fair contract.

There is no doubt that there is a power asymmetry
between farmers and large agribusinesses.With wireless sensors on tractors
monitoring or dictating every decision a farmer makes(from when to plant the
crops and irrigate them,to the quantity and timing of applying pesticides to
the precise day to harvest) big agribusinesses can aggregate large quantities
of previously proprietary farming data enabling them a privileged position and
that means less autonomy for the farmers.

Farmers don’t really know the true value of their
data.Many of them are unaware of the extent to which their data get
stored,traded and analysed for future use.In other cases they don’t even give
their consent for the data to be collected,processed and futher used.

Most small farmers have little use for precision
farming as these technologies are mostly used to industrial farms.

And what about policies and contacts between farmers
and agribusinesses? Most of the farmers don’t have the information and
knowledge.They are more interested in their production. So many times they are
willing to sign a contact with a company even if the terms aren’t in their favour.

So the question remains:

How can there be a further legal address against
government,big co-operations? What about 
binding rules concerning contracts?What about policies?They should have
a more legal base and approach.

In my opinion further legislation with national law is
needed to remedy misuse of data and inform farmers about their rights. Also
international law.

It is certain that the principles of the GDPR are also
applicable to the field of agriculture and farmers. Also the farmers
organisations should play a bigger role to inform and protect the interest and the
rights of the farmers.