How can we improve agriculture, food and nutrition with open data?
This discussion paper (PDF) by Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) elaborates on the role of open data in solving practical problems in agriculture and nutrition sectors. The authors state that alongside the challenges the world faces with regard to food security, there are also great opportunities due to the emerging global data infrastructure. The paper highlights three ways open data can contribute to increase food security: 1) Enabling more efficient and effective decision making; 2) Fostering innovation that everyone can benefit from; 3) Driving organisational and sector change through transparency. They present 14 cases that show how open data can be useful in different stages of agriculture, food production and consumption. From managing scarce water resources during the California drought or helping farmers in Africa estimate the outbreak of animal diseases. Open data can become a valuable tool for policy-makers, industry, small-scale farmers and consumers alike.
See also this CTA Working Paper (PDF) on open data and smallholder food and nutrition security (February 2015).