NAIROBI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is preparing to set up an open data center with the aim to align, transform and catalyze the agriculture sector in the country, an official revealed on Wednesday.

Hamadi Boga, the Principal Secretary for Agriculture and Research in the Ministry of Agriculture, said that the proposed Kenya Agricultural Knowledge Information Systems (KAKIS) center will contain all the official data on crops.

"The center will help reduce duplication that has been attributed to unreliable information as different organizations have different data on agriculture in the country," Boga told participants at a forum in Nairobi.

He noted that the data on agriculture exist but has failed to catalyze research and data in decision making as it appears that stakeholders are competing amongst themselves.

"We are collaborating with the private sector to help harmonize the information and make research as one of the key drivers of economic mainstay of the country," Boga remarked.

He said the center has been identified as a key step in addressing the information gap existing between the various players in agricultural sector and achieving 100 percent food and nutrition security.

Mulat Demeke Deste, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Senior Policy Officer, said that Kenya has high chances of developing its agricultural sector once it adopts the use of ICT.

Deste observed that the center will offer effective knowledge system to help improve management skills of farmers and policy makers in making convincing decisions.

"Kenya has one of the most resourceful data on agriculture in the East African region but the data is outdated and not well coordinated," he noted.

Deste said there is need for a single data portal since the current trend has created a situation whereby the users are also the producers of the same data.