Webinar Recording: Finding the Balance Between Data Protection and Innovation in AgTech

On 5 September 2024, the Digital Agri Food Collective (DAC) hosted a panel discussion, “Balancing Data Protection and AgTech Innovation: Exploring Ethical Data Sharing in the Agri-Food Sector,” delving into the complexities of data governance in the context of African agriculture. The webinar featured a lineup of experts who discussed the critical issues surrounding the ethical use of farmer data, compliance with emerging regulations, and the need for informed consent, all while ensuring that technological advancements in AgTech can continue to benefit farmers.

Watch the Webinar Recording

The full panel discussion is now available to view (click here for the full playlist). We encourage professionals, policymakers, and anyone involved in AgTech or data management to watch the recording and engage with these critical issues that will shape the future of agriculture.

Introduction by Rojan Bolling - Introducing the session and Digital Agrifood Collective

Rojan Bolling is Senior Knowledge Broker at the Netherlands Food Partnership and The Broker and has been co-facilitating the Digital Agrifood Collective for the past years.

Presentation by Jane Ombiro - Introducing the topic of data governance, current development and good practices

Jane Ombiro is Data Protection Officer and Head of Data protection Services at South-end Tech, an organisation that specialises in providing comprehensive data protection and privacy solutions, focusing on compliance with data governance regulations and offering services to ensure secure data management for organisations. She also is a researcher for the Association of Privacy Lawyers in Africa.

Click here to access Jane's presentation.

Presentation by Jan Willem van Casteren - Explaining the eProd approach to data protection, including how it handles informed consent & use of biometric data

Jan Willem van Casteren is CEO and Co-Founder of eProd, a company that offers Supply Chain Management solutions in more than 30 value chains in 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its systems manage the data of over 500k farmers.

Click here to access Jan Willem's presentation.

Panel discussion

• Tomas Moerman is Project Advisor at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, an agency of the Netherlands government that supports entrepreneurs, NGOs, knowledge institutes, policymakers and organisations in doing business internationally through funding, sharing know-how and networks.

• Frankline Agolla is Manager AgTech at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, an organisation that supports leaders on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. In this capacity Frankline is working to support the Kenyan government in development of its digital policies.

• Emmanuel Makau is Senior Regional Technology and Data Manager at Mercy Corps Agrifin. A Mercy Corps programme that leverages digital technology and innovation to develop inclusive digital products and services that smallholder farmers need to increase productivity, income and resilience.

• Candice Kroutz-Kabongo is Team Leader Digital Innovations at Solidaridad Southern Africa, a CSO that enables farmers and workers to earn better incomes, shape their future and produce in balance with nature by working throughout the entire supply chain. She will share from her experience and the experience of the company KVUNO - a business that bundles digital services for farmers, started up as a Solidaridad project.