Farm Data Sharing: Current Practices and Principles

Digital agriculture is considered one of the key technologies to address the challenges the agricultural sector is facing. As a result, agricultural processes are becoming more data-driven and data-enabled. While sharing of data can benefit some actors of the agricultural network, others are more hesitant in sharing data because of barriers and potential risks. This chapter provides insight into the current challenges and the role of data sharing in agriculture. It explains why it could be beneficial to share data but also describes obstacles to that. It is concluded that there are four potential harms for farmers that come with data sharing: image or reputation damage, financial or economic damage, loss of extra income and reclaims or fines.