Part 1: Joining Forces
The CoP is made up of 280 members from the CGIAR and other research institutes, NGOs, the academic, public and private sector. This diversity allows us to create a complete understanding of gaps, priorities, and leverage points for advances in data-driven agronomy. We asked a couple of members from different sectors to share their view of the importance of the CoP here.
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A word from our members: Why do we need this CoP?
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Manuel J. Oliva
Acting Director | Development Resources and Disaster Assistance Division | USDA-FAS
"The role of the public sector is to advance policies and programs, for the benefit of the public. With data-driven agronomy, there is the potential to drastically alter how public sector policies and programs are crafted. A Community of Practice (CoP) addressing data-driven agronomy issues will help ensure that the public sector can meet its diversity of opinion and transparency requirements, as well as develop policies and programs that have greater potential for success. The CoP, in turn, will benefit from greater understanding of the challenges faced by the public sector to implement agricultural policies and programs while balancing the broader needs of the public."
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Jehiel Oliver
Founder & CEO | Hello Tractor
"There is no doubt advanced data analytics and precision approaches will have an impact on smallholder farmers' efficiency. The magnitude of that impact – and how quickly technologies can benefit society – will largely depend on the private sector, government, and the public working together.
The data-driven agronomy community of practice marks a significant step toward bringing this positive impact to smallholder farmers. This alliance of thought leaders has the potential to help disconnected communities of farmers access more affordable, dependable, and transparent inputs and services, that will make a real difference in shaping the future of agriculture."
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Zia Mehrabi
The UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs | University of British Columbia
"All academics want to have impact with their work, so there are three clear reasons to join this COP.
- Developing analysis, algorithms, and data are academics bread and butter, but we don’t do well at scaling our ideas. This COP offers strategic linking with organizations who have the capacity to run with your ideas on the ground.
- Academics are creativity machines but have difficulty matching this creativity to relevant questions. This COP brings together diverse stakeholders to set research agendas for maximum impact and is creating maps of potential partners so you know who to engage in participatory design and where.
- Academics are paid to think about social and environmental ramifications of social change, while others might not always have time to think deeply about these impacts.
This COP offers the opportunity for academics to help ensure technology in agriculture used for the greater good. So, there you have it, three good reasons to join the COP. I’m in."
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The importance of this CoP for the Platform
Brain King | Coordinator of the Platform for Big Data in Agriculture
"Integration of data to provide localized, timely support is possible—in fact there have been several such successes across CGIAR and our partners—yet the truly functional end-to-end, learning system remains elusive. Open innovation and competitive processes have a role in bringing in new perspectives on the problem, but it is increasingly clear that there is also a role for collaboration among researchers, farmers, and firms with deep domain expertise to deliver on the promise of data-driven farming for small holders. The CoP for Data-Driven Agronomy will fill that void."
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Recent joint publications
Smallholders need access to big-data agronomy too.
Zia Mehrabi, Daniel Jimenez & Andy Jarvis. Nature. 1 Mar 2018
Data-driven farming proves fertile ground for O.R.:
Ramirez-Villegas, Julian, Jiménez, Daniel, Lougee, Robin. 2018. ORMS Today. 20-23 p.
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CoP session at the
Tech4Dev 2018
27-29 June, Switzerland
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Platform for Big Data in Agriculture Convention 2018
3-5 Oct , Nairobi, Kenya
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Questions? We're waiting to hear from you
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Contact
Daniel Jimenez
Community of Practice Leader
D.Jimenez@CGIAR.ORG
Wietske Kropff
Community of Practice Coordinator
W.Kropff@CGIAR.ORG
Maria Camilla Gomez
Community of Practice Administration
M.C.Gomez@CGIAR.ORG
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