GFAR/GODAN/CTA webinar "Key data for farmers"
Channel: Global Forum on Agricultural Research & Innovation
Date: 2018-02-28

As part of GFAR's work on farmers’ rights to data and following up on the face-to-face course on Farmers’ Access to Data organized in Centurion in November 2017, we offer a series of live and recorded webinars to make the content of the course available to everybody. 
This series of webinars is co-convened with the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition initiative (GODAN) and the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).

Information and updates on the webinar series can be found at https://blog.gfar.net/2018/02/02/gfar-announces-webinar-series-on-farmers-access-to-data/. 

About this webinar
[PowerPoint available at https://www.slideshare.net/gcard/kalyesubula-webinar-ok3-92175248]

Data becomes significant if it can be linked to information, knowledge and wisdom. Once processed it can be used to generate detailed insights into farm operations and the environment.  It assists big and small holder farmers in making data-based operational decisions to optimize yield and boost revenue while minimizing expenses, the chances of crop failure, and environmental impact.

For data driven agriculture to happen we have to distinguish the data streams in the food chain from pre-planting to consumption, for example: data collected and managed from the farm by farmers which can be either static or dynamic; data coming from external sources like market prices and data that is exported for aggregation by other farm service providers. However, farmers may not be in a position to realize those streams and possibly what data and information is required to answer the food chain questions, for example: What produce can I grow where I live? When should I sow/plant/harvest/market it? How should I sow/plant/harvest/market it? All these questions can be answered if the factual data or information is used or made available to the farmers.

Webinar Goals

Make the participants understand the different key data streams, flow and sources that are vital to agricultural value chains. Participants will be in position to identify the data they own or collect on their farms and its usefulness, understand the difference between human and machine farm data, identify the part in the agricultural value chain where data, and which data, is needed most.

About the presenter

Stephen Kalyesubula is a Computer Engineer and an agri-preneur from Makerere University. He is a graduate researcher at  theiLabs@Mak Project – Makerere University and his key technological interests include: Data science, robotics, Internet of things, AI and design thinking. He is among the directors of Youths In Technology and Development Uganda whose mission is to create tech communities of practice where appropriate use of technology promotes sustainable development in agriculture, health and education.

Stephen has conducted various base line surveys to identify the key data required for small holder farmers in Mukono district, Uganda and his focus is on unlocking the potential of key data to allow growers make informed decisions. He is also working as a Country Director in Uganda for AgriGroomers, South Africa and his responsibility is to extend data analysis skills to the open data team through using open source technologies.  He is also part of the GODAN Capacity Development Group and GODAN Action Network of Trainees.

Facilitator: Valeria Pesce, GFAR.