Can Data Be F.A.I.R. in Agricultural Research?

Big Data is an evolving term that refers to the collection and analysis of large volumes of data to identify patterns and trends, then make predictions about future outcomes. In agriculture, Big Data is not only the quantity of data--it is also an algorithm of interaction with many variables applied to research like agronomy, breeding, farming systems modeling, strategic foresight, nutrition, health, and socio-economy. "What we mean by Big Data is the linked data," says Dr. Jawoo Koo, a Spatial Data and Analytics theme leader and senior research fellow for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). "For us, Big Data is data from multiple disciplines that links together to give us a better understanding of how agriculture works." Koo is co-pioneer of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture and Global Coordinator for the CGIAR Consortium for Spatial Information with extensive work experience in data analysis and crop modeling.