The proposed conference is a result of a commitment made by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr. Willy Bett at the September 2016 Global Open Data on Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) Summit held at the margins of the UN General Assembly, in New York.

During the Summit the Cabinet Secretary accepted a call by GODAN to champion the principles of collaboration and use of open data for agriculture and nutrition within the G77 and its support for the Comprehensive Agreement on Agriculture and Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development
Programme (CAADP) in Africa.