What We Do

The Coalition of the Willing work towards better soil and agronomy data sharing in Ethiopia and support the Ministry of Agriculture make informed decisions. The Ministry has embarked on institutionalizing database development, management and sharing’ as one of its priorities to transform the system. It is working towards digital data-driven agriculture and aims to employ precision agriculture as a means of advancing the agricultural value chain.

Increase the usability of data while protecting security, privacy and data rights by providing guiding principles and rules to the soil and agronomy community

Demonstrate how national data access and sharing can be implemented while maintaining equity, security and privacy

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CoW Annual Assembly

March 21-22, 2024

Adama, Ethiopia

CoW published 10 articles on the special edition of Experimental Agriculture entitled "Mind the gap: Data solutions for enhancing agricultural productivity in sub Saharan Africa"

The edition consists of 17 articles, of which ten are based on the soil and agronomy data initiative of the CoW in Ethiopia, six articles report findings from other countries in SSA and one article attempts to assess the value of data governance in agricultural investments, using the CoW initiative as a case study
Link for the Blog:

Link for the article:

CoW in collaboration with Digital Green and Green Agro Solution piloting climate-informed fertilizer advisory in five selected wheat growing districts of Ethiopia for 2022 main rainy season

The five districts are Basona, Lemo, Mareko Goba and Siya Debir. Fertilizer advisory was prepared and communicated to farmers through extension workers.

CoW conducted a two days planning and updating workshop meeting in Adama, Ethiopia

During May 19-20, 2022. The main purposes of the workshop were to update and discuss the overall status of CoW activities and outputs; to define clear and strategic entry points that can support the national agricultural transformation agenda and define clear path and strategy related to CoW future engagement . In the meeting more than 100 CoW member were participated.

CoW conducted preliminary validation workshop to evaluate the newly developed EthiSoil Grid V.1 product

During December 27-28, 2021 in Adama, Ethiopia. In the meeting State Minster of Ministry of Agriculture, his Excellency Prof. Eyasu Elias, opened the workshop and gave direction to participants to validate and enhance the accuracy of the newly developed soil resource map of Ethiopia. Senior soil scientist were actively participated and gave expert inputs during the validation workshop meeting.

CoW experience on soil and agronomy data sharing was presented in a Webinar organized under the theme
Webinar on Soil and Agronomy Data Sharing Perspectives: Lessons Learned from Ethiopia and Rwanda”. Link: Webinar on Soil and Agronomy Data Sharing Perspectives: Lessons Learned from Ethiopia and Rwanda - YouTube
CoW conducted its first Webinar in collaboration with CABI.

Link : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRvSieEExwOrlzrR7M05GfKybKMvn0T7O

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Facilitate the creation and population of a Soil and Agronomy Database and establish and maintain a data sharing platform

Enable researchers to more easily transform research data into actionable knowledge

Increase engagement and participation in the data sharing ecosystem

Contribute to discussions around emerging issues and support the government in taking informed decisions and tackling problems with tangible evidence

The Coalition has the following objectives:

    Increase the usability of data while protecting security, privacy and data rights by providing guiding principles and rules to the soil and agronomy community

    Increase efficiency and reduce costs associated with duplication of efforts

    Enable researchers to more easily transform research data into actionable knowledge

Demonstrate how national data access and sharing can be implemented while maintaining equity, security and privacy

Increase engagement and participation in the data sharing ecosystem

Facilitate information-based decision making

Contribute to discussions around emerging issues and support the government in taking informed decisions and tackling problems with tangible evidence

Facilitate the creation and population of a Soil and Agronomy Database and establish and maintain a data sharing platform

Crop Response to Fertilizer data collected and cleaned

Soil Profiles Collected

Legacy Soil Profiles Extracted and Cleaned

Current number of CoW members

Partners and Funding Organizations

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

CIAT delivers research-based solutions that address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation.

German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ)

GIZ is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. As a federal enterprise, they support the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. GIZ offers demand-driven, tailor-made and effective services for sustainable development.

Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR)

EIAR was established as the first nationally coordinated agricultural research system in Ethiopia with a mission to formulate national agricultural research guidelines, coordinate National Agricultural Research System, and undertake research in its centers and sub-centers located in various agroecological zones of Ethiopia.

Ministry Of Agriculture (MoA)

MoA was established in 1907 during the reign of emperor Menelik II. MOA has been redesigned in 1991 with the establishment of he Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia In order to execute the Agriculture Development led Industrialization (ADLI) policy that aimed at transforming the country's economy is one of the national policies and strategies. It is aimed at transforming the country's economy in to a well developed and prospered one.