Data-driven farming: having the right data at the right time to make better decisions.

Data-driven farming is the use of data to augment decision-making in farming systems to improve food system outcomes such as quality, productivity, profits, food security and environmental sustainability. The potential for data-driven farming to improve food systems has recently expanded due to the advances in three key areas:

- Data generation
- Data processing
- Predictive analytics

However, for farmers to best benefit from data-driven farming, tools and applications need to be designed for their specific situations and capacities. In addition, measures are needed to ensure that farmer-generated data is not exploited or misused; and that farmers, usually the least powerful parts of a value chain, must grasp every opportunity to be included in the collective data flows within agri-food systems.

This session is set up to initiate a conversation on the above topics and bring together government officials, founders, investors, researchers, and farmers who could work together to envision and build data-driven farming in Aotearoa New Zealand.