The Food Data Collaboration leverages an open data standard to build integrations with commonly used ecommerce tools in the agroecology sector. By integrating with a common standard we can then build infrastructure that combines thousands of different producers and shopfronts without busy farmers and producers needing to adopt new software tools. The result is huge innovation in discoverability, cross-selling, logistics, data capture and analysis for the agroecological sector.

Open Data Standards

Our open data standards are built on comprehensive work done in France by the Data Food Consortium. They brought together a number of sector actors such as Food Assembly, Coop Circuits and Socleo to define the business ontology of agroecological food networks. This ontological work forms the basis of our data standards.

Working with the French team we have developed technical protocols built on semantic web principles, in particular linked data.

Find the documentation for the open data standards, ontology and technical protocols here.

Authentication

Access to the network is controlled by authentication. Only authenticated users will be able to connect into the network. And once authenticated it will only be possible to exchange data with other authenticated users when permission is granted. No data can be shared with any other user unless express permission is granted.

Authentication allows the Food Data Collaboration to ensure that the digital infrastructure is offered only to agroecological producers and outlets. Whether or not a producer is agroecological is defined by a combination of their scale and membership of other groups. For producers with a large turnover, they are expected to have a certification eg organic. For smaller producers membership of agroecological movements (eg Landworkers Alliance) is sufficient. Members are also encouraged to share social and ecological monitoring.

Integrations

Currently the following platforms have integrated into the standard:

Most integrations are built using connector packages into common programming languages. These are open source and available here. Support for integration is best found via our international Slack community.

Infrastructure Roadmap

  • Early 2025 – Build integration with Email/Spreadsheets
  • Mid 2025 – Build integration with WooCommerce
  • Late 2025 – Build onboarding and Discovery platform