The University of Nottingham has announced a partnership with the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) to accelerate research to improve global food security.
The University of Nottingham's Future Food Beacon will work with GODAN to maximise the impact of projects tackling a range of emerging issues across the food system - from mapping micronutrient deficiency to utilising computer technology to improve crop management.
The partnership will allow researchers to connect with partners who can accelerate the impact and uptake of innovations, knowledge, and data, and share with those that use it to improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers and their families.
Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) aims to impact the lives of at least 12 million smallholders internationally by implementing innovations that help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: ending global hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and sustainable agriculture by 2030.
It is doing this through a rapidly growing network of over 900 global innovators and change makers across national governments, non-governmental organisations, and international and private sector organisations. Partners in over 115 countries are working together to conceive agricultural innovations by focusing on a high-level support system to implement a strategy required to optimise farm yields.
The Future Food Beacon is undertaking a range of projects that will benefit from partnering with GODAN including: the Geonutrition programme to improve estimates of micronutrient deficiency risks in Ethiopia and South Asia, the Conversion Agricuture project in Africa to better understand soil and water retentiton to help improve farm practice and soil management ,and Digital Agriculture to develop technologies for monitoring crops.
This partnership with GODAN will allow us to broaden the reach of our research and potentially gain more momentum for translating findings into action with policymakers and influencers who can really help improve the lives of the people in the areas where we are working.
Dr. Suchith Anand, Chief Scientist at GODAN added: "GODAN is committed to jointly work with governments and scientists around the world for implementing innovations that help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 - ending global hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and sustainable agriculture by 2030. Open access to research, and open publication of data, are vital resources for food security and nutrition; driven by farmers, farmer organisations, researchers, experts, policy makers, governments, and other private sector and civil society stakeholders participating in "innovation systems" and along value chains. University of Nottingham is one of the top research universities in the UK and through its Future Food Beacon is bringing together cross-disciplinary expertise to work on Global Food Security. Through this MoU we are looking forward to developing a dynamic partnership with the University of Nottingham and work together to explore innovative solutions to feed a growing population in the face of climate change."
