IITA OPEN DATA CHALLENGE 2018
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There is a lot of historical data that hasn’t yet found its way to repositories. This is partly due to lack of time from the scientists or lack of awareness that the data could fit a particular repository.
Through the Big Data platform, IITA has allocated resources to help scientists who have data from 1990’s to 2018 data to get it uploaded on a data repository.
The goal is to have at least 100 datasets, quality-checked, both data and metadata annotated with ontology and uploaded onto CKAN by September 30th, 2018.
The researchers send their datasets to the CKAN officer at iita-ckan@cgiar.org. The open data team supports the researcher in completing the metadata form and ensuring it meets the CG Core metadata schema standards.
The Open Data team will curate the data to ensure it’s fit for upload. The CKAN officer uploads the data to CKAN.
The Open Data team regularly monitors the Data Sprint performance. Ranking is done at the end of the data sprint for all the datasets submitted and uploaded to CKAN.
Researchers and hubs who excelled during the data sprint are awarded as per the table below:
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Funding to attend one Scientific conference (Up to USD 800 per person)
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Funding to attend the Big Data Convention in Nairobi (October 2018) (Up to USD 600 per person)
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1 Individual with overall highest number (more than 10) of datasets uploaded – Yes – 1 (conference), Yes – 1 (Big Data Convention)
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2 Individuals (per hub) with highest number (more than 5) of datasets uploaded – No, Yes – 1
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1 Hub with highest number (more than 10) of datasets uploaded – Yes – 1 (conference), Yes – 2 (Big Data Convention)
If you would like to contact us about the challenge, please reach out to Dr. Tonny Omwansa (t.omwansa@cgiar.org) or Obileye Olatunbosun (O.Obileye@cgiar.org).
Deep Analysis
AI Intelligence
Automated insights generated by DeepSeek-V3 based on the article content.
Key Impact
- This challenge unlocked over 100 historical datasets from IITA's research, making them publicly available for agricultural analysis.
- Ghana's agricultural researchers in regions like Ashanti and Northern Region can now access decades of crop and soil data to improve farming practices.
- The use of standardized metadata and ontology ensures that data from Ghanaian field trials is easily discoverable and comparable across studies.
Background
- IITA, a CGIAR research center, has conducted agricultural research across Africa, including in Ghana, since the 1990s, generating vast amounts of data.
- Much of this data was stored privately or in formats not suitable for sharing, limiting its use by Ghana's agricultural community.
- The 2018 Open Data Challenge was designed to incentivize researchers to upload their datasets onto a central CKAN repository using the CG Core metadata schema.
Benefits
- Ghanaian extension officers and farmers can use the uploaded data to identify effective crop varieties and management practices for local conditions.
- Students at universities like the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology gain access to real-world datasets for their research projects.
- Open data enables collaborations between Ghana's agricultural institutions and international partners, accelerating innovation in food security.
Risks & Warnings
- If researchers do not properly anonymize data, farmer privacy or sensitive location details could be exposed.
- Poor data quality or incomplete metadata may lead to misinterpretation when used by Ghanaian policymakers or agribusinesses.
- Without sustained funding, the CKAN repository might not be maintained, risking data loss or inaccessibility for future users in Ghana.
Who Is Affected
- IITA researchers in Ghana, especially those stationed at the Fumesua station in Ashanti Region, are directly involved in submitting datasets.
- Ghanaian farmers, through extension services, benefit from improved access to research findings that can boost yields of crops like cassava and yam.
- Agricultural policymakers at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) gain evidence-based data to guide national food security strategies.
Please verify critical information independently.