Data literacy in the sector of agriculture of Croatia: Learning about and with open data

Aiming to get insight into data literacy of agricultural sector at the University of Zagreb we have investigated presence of education on open data (OD), and using OD for learning in undergraduate and graduate studies. ECTS catalogue of Faculty of agriculture was subjected to document analysis, in order to identify early adopters educating on OD, or using it as educational material. Limited education on OD and OD usage was found. Qualitative descriptive design was used to classify semi-structured interviews with the chosen early adopters, and document analysis of their course materials. Thematic analysis focusing on data skills and knowledge showed that the lowest number of interviews and course materials is connected to developing digital competences of the students, and developing data literacy of the lecturers. The greatest number of references in the interviews and the documents was relating to technical and conceptual skills required to understand and effectively use data, as well as to combine domain knowledge with
data literacy. Using the existing frameworks to support the OD usage in learning could broaden the learning activities, develop public usage of OD in the agricultural sector in Croatia, and bring momentum to smart and predictive agriculture, precision agriculture, and climate change mitigation.