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The National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) of Mexico developed the Agrobiodiversity Information System (SIAgroBD). SIAgroBD collects open data on agrobiodiversity associated with traditional agriculture, among other information.

The data collection is carried out using KoboToolbox (Kobo), an open software tool for digital data collection developed by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, which allows users to answer forms from a mobile application with or without internet connection, or from its version Web. Kobo was installed on CONABIO servers to safeguard and manage the data locally, since some information is potentially sensitive and there is a high volume of images. Data collection is done using Kobo forms designed jointly by experts in agrobiodiversity, to include biological, geographic, agronomic, socio-economic, cultural and nutritional data.

With these forms, various research groups from academic institutions and civil society collect data in the field, often collaborating with local communities. The use of Kobo is accompanied by the development of capacities promoted by CONABIO through training, technical support, documentation, workshops and exchanges of experiences.

The use of this open software solution helped to solve the main bottlenecks faced by previous CONABIO projects. For those who collect data in the field, Kobo helps reduce capture errors, reduces collection time, integrates various types of data in the same application, allows users to work simultaneously and provides immediate backup. For CONABIO's technical team, Kobo facilitates the implementation of reproducible workflows that reduce cleanup, integration, and review time, as well as monitoring project progress in real time. As a result, open data on agrobiodiversity that are reliable and quickly available to society are generated.

This work was conducted as part of a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Project on Mexican Agrobiodiversity, for which the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was the implementing agency.

SIAgroBD is used at the national level, and the data collection tools enjoyed widespread adoption by research groups across the country. However, this approach is not commonly used by other academic or governmental organizations, which is one of the researchers¡¯ motivations for sharing this experience.

Contributed by Irene Ramos and Alicia Mastretta Yanes.