Suppliers and buyers sign up to code protecting farmers’ data

Businesses which supply, buy from and provide other services to agriculture are starting to sign up to a code which aims to protect farmers’ data.

The code is voluntary and has been drawn up by not-for-profit organisation Farm Data Principles, which evolved from the British Farm Data Council, launched in 2022.

See also: Business Clinic: how do I prepare for what happens to digital accounts on my death?

The aim is to establish trust through common standards of data care, security and ownership for the agricultural and horticultural sectors.

Those who sign up to the code promise no automatic opt-ins – that is a core principle, says co-ordinator Julian Little.

The fundamentals of the code are based on the tenet that “your data is your data”, so that:

• The data originator, normally the farmer, owns and controls the data
• The data originator can access, edit, delete, and migrate data easily
• Data is not accessed or stored without explicit opt-in permission
• Data is not shared or sold without explicit opt-in permission

If trust can be improved, then data sharing, collaboration, and genuine value for the industry can develop, says the organisation.

Certified organisations sign up to being clear about the value and benefit of data sharing.

In some cases this will be monetary, and at other times it will be provide insights enabling action to be taken for the benefit of farming and horticulture businesses individually and for the sector as a whole.

Commitment to explain data use

Participating organisations must give a clear explanation from the outset regarding what raw data is used and how, and, where value is generated, make it clear what that value is and who benefits.

With data security a priority, those who sign up must adopt appropriate measures and make sure there are processes in place to maintain security of users’ data in case of a data breach.

Organisations which have signed up to the code have pledged to be accessible and responsive to requests, instructions or complaints.

Julian suggests farmers ask those they are trading with whether they have signed up to the code. “Even if you have full confidence in them, it’s worth asking the question.”

Farm Data Principles is governed by a council of 10 people drawn from across a wide range of experience and farming interests, and is chaired by former chief executive officer of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Prof Tina Barsby.  

Farmer and council member Sarah Bell says that farmers have for too long been given bare minimum information on what the need is for their data and information, and that where it is offered, it is often bogged down in legal agreements written in anything but succinct plain English.