Open Data & Open Science in Agriculture

Experiences & Opinions

Prof Abukutsa Mary O. ONYANGO. (Ph.D, MKNAS, EBS)Professor of Horticulture

Department of Horticulture: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

Abukutsa.mary@gmail.com

Forum on Open Data and Open Science in Agriculture on 15 th JUNE 2015

Effective Communication

& Open Science in Agriculture is Key to Solving Some of the Challenges Facing the World

Today

Hunger Obesity

Source: FAO and WHO study http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/

.

Double Malnutrition Burden

Effects on HealthEffects on Health %Contribution of Obesity to LSD%Contribution of Obesity to LSD

14) –Medical Doctor

No Non. Communicable Disease %Attributable

1. Diabetes 44%

2. Heart Diseases 23%

3. Certain Cancers 41%

Obesity Magnitude in Africa - 30%

Rate of Increase - 40% / 10 yrs

40% of Deaths in Kenyan Hospitals

Effects on Health Daily Nation, October 14 2014

Vegetable Consumption

(Kg/person/year)

AFRICAAFRICA

Rich Rich Continent Continent

Horticultural Horticultural DiversityDiversity

Horticultural Biodiversity

Repositioning AIVs Since 1991

Quality seedQuality seed

LeafletsLeaflets

Good crop for farmersGood crop for farmersTrained over 3000Trained over 3000

AvailabilityAvailability

ProductsProducts

IMPROVING ADOPTION OF INNOVATIONS IN AGRICULTURE FOR

HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY

In 2012 Agriculture Sector Conferenceat Safari Park Hotel

How do we make Agricultural Technologies and Results from Researchers be readily

accessible to the end-users?

• Scientific papers

• Refereed Conference Proceedings

• Leaflets and brochures

• Oral-Media-Song, Dance and Drama

• Print Media and Internet

• Technical Reports and Documentaries

• Exhibitions and Shows

Publications and CommunicationsPublications and Communications

• Scientific papers publications Traditional print Journals Institutional Journals International Journals African Journals (some are International) Local Journals

• Open Access Journals (DOAJ)-AJFAND-2007

Publications and CommunicationsPublications and Communications

Experiences in Open access Promotion

Organizers/Presentation/Activity Venue Date1. Eifl & CKUL (Workshop) –Kenyan Universities, publishers and other stakeholders

UoN 9/2 2010

2. Importance of Open access video recorded UoN 9/2 /2010

3. Eifl/JKUAT Open access workshop & IR – JKUAT-staff

AICAD Sept/2010

4. BioMed Central - Open access in Africa KUCC 10th /11/ 2010

5.Eifl/UoN Open access & IR workshop –UoN staff

UoN- CCU 30th /8/ 2012

6. Eifl/UoN Open access workshop & IR – JKUAT-staff (JKUAT Digital Repository policy developed)

AICAD 18th /10/ 2012

7. Eifl &CUUL (workshop)- Ugandan Agricultural Reseachers

KAMPALA 14th /5/ 2014

8. KALRO/FAO – Open data &Open Science NAIROBI 15th /6/ 2015

Publications and Communications

Publications & Channels of Communication Approximate No.1. Public Lectures and keynote speeches 30 (40% open access)

2. Theses 02 (0%)

3. Books and Book chapters 15 (50% e-books)

4. Dissemination Leaflets 15 (50% open access)

5. Technical Reports 10 (40% open access)

6. Technical Books and Booklets 11 (20%)

7. Magazine and Newspaper articles 20 (50% open access)

8. Audio and Videos (Documentary, Radio, TV) 20 (20% open access)

9. Scientific refereed conference papers 40 (80% open access)

10. Scientific refereed Journal Papers 40 (80% open access)

Total 190

African Indigenous Vegetables

Moved from being Poor man’s food in 1991to Super Vegetables in June 2015 as result of Open data and open Science in agriculture

Strategy

See the link below to Nature Magazine

http://www.nature.com/news/the-rise-of-africa-s-super-vegetables-1.17712

Benefits •Dissemination of Information to end users•Knowledge and Information Sharing•Increased Reference Materials for Scholars and Researchers•Information and knowledge for Development•Visibility of Scholars, Researchers & Institutions•Professional Advancement•Invitations to conferences as key note speaker•Job opportunities and Consultancies•Recognition and Awards•AIVs moved from poor man’s food to Super Vegetables

Challenges

•Poor internet connectivity (ICT)•Inadequate ICT infrastructure•Misuse of information shared•Inadequate advocacy and misconceptions•Managing IP Rights issues•Publication fees not affordable in some journals•Predatory open access journals

Conclusions •Scientific Research findings must be effectively communicated to the public for impact•Publications are beneficial to the researcher, readers, public, governments and even publishers•Researchers and scholars should make efforts to publish in open access journals and develop IR•Researchers should partner with other stakeholders to repackage information to suit diverse readership•Deliberate efforts should be made and strategies put in place to encourage scholars and researchers to publish in open access