A University of Guelph researcher is bringing their expertise to a collaborative international project aimed at improving data-driven decision making in agriculture.
Dr. Rozita Dara, professor in the School of Computer Science, College of Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, has received just over $1.08 million in funding from Horizon Europe under the program’s Pillar 2 Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment.
These funds mark a milestone as one of the University’s first Pillar 2 awards, reflecting early success after Canada was granted status as an eligible partner country under the program.
Horizon Europe is the world’s largest research and innovation funding program supporting the creation and advancement of science and evidence-based solutions to global challenges. Pillar 2 funding supports collaborative projects, typically carried out by international research consortia, that address United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Improving decision making with high-quality data
Dara will represent U of G in the Agriculture of Data (AgData) consortium – a group of international partners working to accelerate digital transformation in agriculture, using data and artificial intelligence to advance sustainability and resilience.
“The core foundation of AI is data,” says Dara. “If the data is not high quality, then AI systems cannot be robust, reliable or safe.”
Currently, data quality and availability are major challenges in the agriculture sector. Fragmentation, governance, sharing practices and security concerns are all factors at play.
“We don’t fully know what data exists and where, how reliable they are and whether they’re suitable for use in agriculture scenarios,” says Dara. “Also, not all data is shareable, and even if it is, some owners are hesitant due to privacy or other concerns.
“Our goal is to address these challenges and prepare high-quality data to build AI-driven technologies that help farmers and policymakers make more informed decisions.”
Dara is working with collaborators across U of G, from the College of Engineering to the Ontario Veterinary College and Ontario Agricultural College. These include Drs. Medhat Moussa, Shayan Sharif, Claudia Wagner-Riddle and Mohsen Yoosefzadeh-Najafabadi, whose projects focus on data quality and sharing in specific areas such as soil health, breeding, AI and robotics, and avian influenza modeling.
As a coordinator, Dara will also facilitate communication and relationships between AgData’s European partners and U of G. One of the consortium’s goals is to establish national committees to assess the data ecosystem within different regions, including Canada, and use this information to inform new policies around data sharing and use.
Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Horizon Europe. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.