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Big data and climate change:Big words or big opportunity?Innovative approaches to disseminating CSA practices and advisories

Jacob van Etten

Theme leader Climate Change Adaptation

9th April 2014

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1. Big data, what is it?

2. Big words only?

3. What about CCAFS?

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Social data / crowdsourcing

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Bioinformatics

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Data journalism

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A movie passes the Bechdel Test if women that are named have at least one conversation that is not about a man.

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Crowdsourcing

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In summary

• ICT generate more and more data

• Data are going social

• Big Data is about “repurposing” in many different ways

• Dumb force of big n obviates precision, long waits and big

$

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Big words only?

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Gartner’s hype cycle

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Where is Big Data on the curve?

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In summary

• Many caveats apply

• Big Data is on the Peak of Inflated Expectations

• There is a Plateau of Productivity ahead!

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What about CCAFS?

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Historical data

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Big data illusions

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Sensors

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Site-specific agriculture (CIAT)

+ + =

Climate Soil Crop management Productivity

% ? + % ? + % ? = To Explain (100 %)

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Citizen science

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Nifty statistics: Bradley-Terry model with recursive partitioning

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4. Farmers test and report back by mobile phone

2. Each farmer gets a different combination of varieties

3. Environmental data (GPS, sensors) to assess adaptation

1. A broad set of varieties is evaluated

6. Detect demand for new varieties and traits

5. Farmers receive tailored variety recommendations and can order seeds

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Crowdsourcing Monitoring and Evaluation?

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In conclusion…

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but some work is required to get it

out of the ground

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Big data session

Two micro-presentations

•Participatory modelling with historical crop data (Dieudonne

Harahagazwe, CIP)

•Big data to optimize agricultural systems through location-specific

advise (Daniel Jiménez, CIAT)

Group discussion

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Thank you!