Research Data Management (RDM) in agricultural research institutes: a literature review

Abstract

This article presents a survey of literature on Research Data Management (RDM) with focus on agricultural research institutes. This is to help the understanding of core issues in RDM such as legal, policy and regulations; skills set and infrastructure in order to strategically position the agricultural sector in the knowledge economy and also help in reducing duplication of effort, promoting innovation, minimizing loss or destruction of research data sets and that ensuring compliance with funders’ requirements. The author argues that while RDM has been widely embraced in developed countries Africa is lacking behind. The literature reviewed in this article seem to suggest that legal, policy and regulatory framework in agricultural research sectors are either nonexistent or outdated. This is exacerbated by inadequate technical infrastructure, human resources capacity, and paucity of national or international partnerships. As a result, research data sets within agricultural institutes are poorly managed. The establishment of a legislative and policy framework for RDM; capacity building programs, and improvement of technical infrastructure are highly recommended.