The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture is where information becomes power: power to predict, prescribe, and produce more food, more sustainably. It aims to democratize decades of agricultural data empowering analysts, statisticians, programmers and more to mine information for trends and quirks, and develop rapid, accurate and compelling recommendations for farmers, researchers and policymakers.

The data ecosystem for global food security is complex. It is nothing less than all information infrastructures, enabling policies, data sources, modeling and analytic approaches, applications and tools used to capture, store, analyze and apply data for impact in society and in the natural world.

The data ecosystem for food security is also incomplete. The data sources, communications, and connections for food security must bridge scientific disciplines, market and food systems, social and political realities. Data must integrate with natural ecosystems worldwide, from the global to the local, across public, private, and non-profit goods, if humanity is to build the food secure future.

This year’s Convention will take place at the campus of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and will be co-hosted by ICRAF and the International Livestock Research Institute. It is a great opportunity to highlight data-driven approaches to multi-scale food systems analysis, landscapes, ecosystem services, and the special role of animal science in building resilient food systems worldwide.

Three days of focused, action-based discussion to find commonalities across research institutes, governments, and private organizations set the stage for a productive and data-driven year ahead.

We look forward to you joining us for a lively week on this year’s theme: “Decoding the Data Ecosystem.” We’ll dive into ways the data ecosystem for food security can integrate with real ecosystems worldwide, from the global to the local, across public, private, and non-profit goods.

The Platform is led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).