Icrisat meet on trust in digital agriculture

Patancheru: Over 500 delegates are set to discuss trust in digital agriculture and explore ways to build it during the third annual convention of CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture.

The '2019 Big Data in Agriculture Convention: TRUST: Humans, Machines' kicks off on October 16 and will conclude on October 18 at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat).

Speaking to the convention theme, the coordinator for the BIG DATA, Platform, Brian King, highlighted the opportunities machines and machine-to-machine systems offer for accelerating food security solutions at a time when climates and ecosystems are under threat. He underlined the importance of ensuring that ethical frameworks and institutions stay abreast of the rate of changes these digital technologies present.

Leading experts in data science, research scientists, policymakers and local farmers will deliberate over the problems and solutions related to trust among institutions, firms, dynamic and expanding human communities, and technologies that can help build a food secure future.

The convention aims to help delegates tackle complex themes of trust-building in frameworks that holistically manage ethics, multi-stakeholder coordination, data-driven action and investment in digital agricultural technologies.

"The BIG DATA Convention is considering an important issue for global agriculture. The future of food can leverage existing digital technologies and those on the anvil. Discussing impediments to trust and finding ways to build it in institutions, frameworks and in technologies, therefore, warrants global attention," said Dr Peter Carberry, the Director General of Icrisat.