The 2009 edition of the CGIAR-CSI annual meeting involved a full day and many other working sessions discussing strategic directions and opportunities for AGCommons. The week was capped by WhereCampAfrica which provided broader community perspectives and technology opportunities. Both were extremely valuable to informing AGCommons to where value can be added.
We’re interested in hearing what others think about the week. So please post your comments!
Focus on Intermediaries – A stated objective of the AGCommons program is to: delivery high value solutions to “the last 10 kilometers.” It became increasingly clear as the week progressed that working through intermediaries (e.g. government extension agents, NGO community knowledge workers) will be a critical success factor in achieving and sustaining that objective. This will also be true for collecting and receiving data and information from the field.
Accessibility and Discoverability – While awareness has been raised for the need to make geospatial data findable and accessible in harmonized formats, there is much work to do before this is comprehensively achieved. This will require logically defining a thematic data framework, changing policies and behaviors by data producers that hinder sharing, and consistent investment in the IT infrastructure to facilitate sharing (i.e. GeoNetwork).
Service orientation: partners and end users – Much of the geospatial work performed today is in support of research or narrowly-defined project goals. The lack of a clear mandate to serve external organizations and users leaves value “on the table” and limits the extent to which current geospatial data and analytical products benefit agriculture development. The AGCommons program and geospatial technologists working in agriculture research and development should develop a set of service offerings and delivery models to satisfy the needs of the community.
Alignment with Africa-based Development – Africa-based development organizations including AGRA and NEPAD have ambitious and well-formed initiatives that the geospatial focus of AGCommons compliments and aligns well to. It behooves AGCommons to embrace these organizations as core stakeholders and seek opportunities for partnership and collaboration.
Thematic data priorities: Land Use, Climate, Value Chain, VHRI – Data coverage, quality and currency varies greatly across SSA. There are many thematic areas that need work (e.g. infrastructure, demographics, hydrography, soils) for which initiatives are already underway. The areas of land use, climate, value chain (including market access and prices) and high-resolution imagery require coordinated support for the development, harmonization and/or procurement of these data.
Capacity building: people, infrastructure, organization – In order for geospatial technology to fulfill its potential for Agriculture Development, thriving local support capacity needs to be present. This will require growth not only in the people and infrastructure needed to implement geospatial solutions, but also in the organizations that will adopt and implement geospatial solutions into their work. There is much to build upon in this regard (i.e. RCMRD, CERSGIS) and these resources should be augmented with further development in the academic sector and cultivation of private sector providers.
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