Last week in Brussels, an EU code of conduct on agricultural data sharing was announced at offices of COPA-COGECA – the body representing farmers and their cooperatives in the EU.

The aim of the code is to ensure shared data generated by farmers is of benefit to all in the agri-food chain. At the launch, European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan said: “From an agri-food perspective, digital solutions have the potential to transform the efficiency and sustainability of holdings of all sizes, and data availability and sharing is fundamental to their success. We need to protect the farmer in relation to the data they generate. Transparency and fairness must be built into all system from the start.”

Even though signing the code is voluntary, the signatory bodies are encouraging their members to follow the guidelines. Commissioner Hogan went on to say: “Farmers must have access to the data they share and safeguards in place to protect their data output. If we get this right from the start, we can avoid a situation where we are forced to take retroactive measures later on, as happened recently with UTPs (unfair trading practices) in the food supply chain.”

Farmer rights

The code establishes that data produced on the farm by the farmer are attributed to him as the data originator. Using this data in any way can only occur with clear permission from the originator by contractual agreement.

The farmer can also decide who uses this data and may also benefit from allowing them to use it. Farmers as originators are in no way obliged to only share their data with just one other party unless contractually agreed.