The story

Over the years, Ethiopia’s authorities have collected and mapped data on the country’s soils. This kind of data can give valuable insights into soil health and support effective decision-making in agriculture, ultimately benefitting farmers. In 2018, it became clear that the expected benefits of data collection were not being fully realized. A key hurdle was a lack of national-level policy detailing the terms under which data could be shared. Informal connections were being made between departments and individuals, but more formal ways to share data were unclear. 

A group of soil data experts in Ethiopia’s research community recognized this issue. They came together as a ‘coalition of the willing’ and formed a basis for national soil data sharing. They raised the issue with donors, and through them, CABI was invited to facilitate the creation of a soil data sharing policy directive. CABI brought together a wide range of stakeholders to review the challenges preventing effective data sharing and find a lasting solution. Challenges included low capacity and a lack of data sharing skills. CABI used the FAIR framework as a tool upon which to build the directive, helping to make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. 

CABI’s work focused on facilitation and following best practices in data sharing. From the bottom up, the team-built consensus and identified the processes and resources needed to plug data-sharing awareness and skill gaps. They promoted the adoption of good policies countrywide. Other departments started to adopt FAIR practices and the benefits spilt over. The initiative gave decision-makers the practical tools they needed to implement better data management. Through this work, the project ignited a culture change around agricultural data sharing in Ethiopia. In 2023, the Ministry of Justice ratified the Ministry of Agriculture directive into law, opening the gates to the publication of the National Soil Information System of Ethiopia (NSIS).