Harnessing the Data

It is expected that by 2050 there will be more than 9 billion mouths to feed on the planet. At the recent Global Water for Food Conference in Seattle entitled “Harnessing the Data” the challenges for food production due to an ever increasing lack of water was discussed in length, and how Big Data can help meet that particular challenge. Hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation the conference was all about mobilizing Big Data to improve worldwide water and food security. Experts attending the conference discussed data tools for doing just that, including the Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas - a global collaboration in which researchers are gathering and analyzing satellite, atmospheric, soil and historic data to identify farmland where significant gaps exist between actual and potential yields for different crops; biotechnology and the data science that is driving advancements in that field; greenhouse farming, and water meters. All testimony to the fact that “Harnessing the Data” is certainly key to ensuring water and food security.