Chinese farmers benefit from new web and sms information service

A news item in the People's Daily Online describes how thousands of Chinese farmers are signing up to receive sound and text messages on their phones about planting techniques and farm produce. They can also visit a new web site to receive technical guidance about crop planting and husbandry, and release information about supply or demand for their own farm produce.

Tags: agricultural information china

eXtension: United States national platform and collaboration space

In the USA, eXtension has been established by the State Cooperative Extension System, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the USDA's Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service as a community led portal and collaboration space bringing information and education to agricultural communities.

Particularly interesting for information and communication specialists is the approach and toolkit used - it makes extensive use of blogs and wikis to support content dissemination, discussion lists, videoconferencing, and the mobilisation of individuals through communities of practice. You can see how the public pages on horses are put together behind the scenes through wikis.

Tags: agricultural information usa extension

Postgraduate programme in agricultural information and communication in East and Central Africa

The Regional Agricultural Information Network (RAIN) of the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) convenes a workshop 1-3 November 2006 to discuss proposals to launch an MSc-level programme in agricultural information and communication management in one or several universities in the region.

Drawing on recommendations of a training needs assessment carried out in 2004, the proposed postgraduate program is expected to address skills gaps by incorporating Information Communication Technologies and Information Communication Management curricula into the programmes of universities in the region. It is hoped that the workshop will result in an agreed curriculum and implementation modalities for:

• MSc programme in Agricultural Information and Communication Management
• Postgraduate diploma in Agricultural Information and Communication Management
• Agricultural Information and Communication Management course modules for incorporation into MSc programmes in Agricultural sciences
• Dissertation research scholarship scheme
• strategies of the programme organization and management
• Action Plans and recommendations of way forward.

More information from RAIN: rain@asareca.org

Tags: agricultural information africa asareca education

Atelier REDIMA sur la planification et la gestion de projets et réseaux d'information agricole

En réponse à la demande faite par les membres et partenaires des deux réseaux de recherche qui assurent la coordination des activités de recherche sur les bananiers en Afrique, à savoir MUSACO (Afrique de l'Ouest et Centrale) et BARNESA (Afrique de l'Est et Australe), l'INIBAP a organisé en novembre 2004 et janvier 2005, avec l'appui du CTA, deux ateliers régionaux sur le thème 'Pour une meilleure gestion et utilisation de l'information sur les bananiers en Afrique', en deux sessions respectivement à Njombé (Cameroun) et Kampala (Uganda).

Cette rencontre a abouti à la création du Réseau de Documentation et d’Information sur les Musa en Afrique (REDIMA), qui vise à faciliter la circulation de l’information et l’échange des connaissances entre les partenaires des réseaux de recherche/développement sur les Musa. Les activités de REDIMA visent objectifs entre autres à renforcer les capacités des institutions de recherche membres de REDIMA et partenaires, dans la gestion et diffusion de l'information pour la recherche bananière et le développement agricole, notamment en organisant régulièrement, en fonction des ressources disponibles, des ateliers de formation. REDIMA est entièrement financé par l'INIBAP, un programme de l'IPGRI.

Dans le but d'aider les différents partenaires à résoudre les contraintes relatives au financement et la planification des activités d’information agricole, l'INIBAP, dans le cadre de REDIMA, et avec l'appui du CTA, organise un atelier régional de formation des documentalistes des institutions de recherche agricoles sur la planification, rédaction et gestion de projets relatifs aux systèmes et réseaux d’information. Cet atelier se tiendra en deux sessions selon le programme qui suit : Session en langue française : Limbé, Cameroun, 23-27 octobre 2006; Session en langue anglaise : Kampala, Uganda, 27 nov.-1er décembre 2006

Chaque session durera cinq jours et mettra l'accent sur les deux grands modules que sont :

1. Planification et rédaction de propositions de projets (inclut des sous modules)
2. planification, gestion, suivi et évaluation des activités relatifs aux projets et systèmes d’information agricole (inclut des sous modules)

Le nombre de participants aux deux ateliers est estimé à 40 gestionnaires de l’information provenant des institutions de recherche agricole d’environ 27 pays d’Afrique.

Contact : Josué Tetang Tchinda, coordonateur de REDIMA, yotetang AT yahoo.com

Tags: agricultural information africa banana inibap

REDIMA workshop on planning, managing and monitoring agricultural information projects/systems

In November 2004 and January 2005, INIBAP organized in partnership with CTA a regional workshop 'Towards a better management and use of Musa Information in Africa', which was held in two sessions in Njombé (Cameroon) and Kampala (Uganda). During this workshop, the participants (scientists and information specialists) decided to create a Musa Documentation and Information Network for Africa (REDIMA) to improve the flow of information concerning banana and plantain research and a better sharing and use of research results. REDIMA activities aim amongst others to reinforce the capacities of members and partners in the management and sharing of information for research and development, notably by organizing regional training workshops. REDIMA is coordinated by INIBAP, a program of IPGRI.

To help agricultural research institutes address the numerous constraints with regards to financing, planning, managing, and monitoring information activities, INIBAP, in the framework of REDIMA and with support from CTA, organizes a regional training workshop to train information managers on writing, planning, managing and monitoring information projects/systems or networks. The workshop is organized in two sessions according to the following programme: French session: Limbé, Cameroon, 23-27 October 2006; English session: Kampala, Uganda, 27 November – 1st December 2006.

Each session of the workshop will last for five days and will focus on:

1. Planning for proposal writing (includes sub modules)
2. Organising, managing and monitoring information services, systems and networks.
   

In all, 40 agricultural information officers from 27 Africain countries are expected to attend these two workshops.

Submitted by Josué Tetang Tchinda, REDIMA coordinator, yotetang AT yahoo.com

Tags: agricultural information africa banana inibap

Administrating a 'virtual' research centre in Colombia

In July 2006, Rebecca Lee and Carlos González presented a paper outlining the experiences of the Colombian Centre for Innovation in Floriculture (Ceniflores) as a 'virtual' articulator between flower producers and research institutions.

To achieve its objectives, Ceniflores has acquired a systems infrastructure built completely on Internet applications, using a web-based architecture. This allows for information collection from multiple sources, its integration, and analysis. The information is available to different stakeholders through articulated networks (Business Web [B-Web]) built around the services offered, including access to documents, projects, research priority questionnaires, databases, and topic-based research networks, among others.

The technology used is based on various open source applications, dramatically reducing time and cost to implement each of the services. Furthermore, the use of existing applications and how they have been integrated, allow replication of the model by other centres that require the creation of web based networks.

Cenifores uses a wiki (by Tikiwiki) as its web publishing platform.

The paper was presented at the 2006 World Congress on Computers in Agriculture.

Tags: agricultural information colombia research

USAIN participants discuss planned National Digital Library of Agriculture

Ithaca, 10 October. USAIN members today discussed ideas and proposals for a US National Digital Library of Agriculture (NDLA).

AgNIC Chair Barb Hutchinson opened by tracing the evolution of the idea back to the report of the 'blue ribbon' panel review of the US National Agricultural Library (NAL) in 2001 that called for a much more dynamic national agricultural information system. To follow up these ideas and move the agenda forward, AgNIC established a Leadership Council for Agricultural Information and Outreach - it last met in January 2006 to discuss to discuss a roadmap to move forward.

At the same time, in mid 2005, USAIN set up a task force to write a white paper setting out a 'next generation' agricultural information infrastructure for the United States. According to Hutchinson, this is a "justification for change" and not an actual plan. It is designed to feed into and complement the NDLA 'call to action' developed through AgNIC. According to Susan McCarthy of the US NAL, many elements of the proposed NDLA already exist or are in development - a "blueprint" is needed that can leverage system-wide benefits and deliver a coordinated system.

Looking for this blueprint, agricultural librarians and information specialists in Ithaca for the USAIN meetings brainstormed around the draft goals of the NDLA, being:

• partnerships - that are inclusive, global, and multi-sectoral
• preservation - of 'heritage' information resources and assets, in perpetuity
• accessibility - of information resources, user-focused, inclusive, multi-type and multi-actor, end-user or mediated, and differentiated according to uses and users
• education and workforce development
• technology - that facilitates and enable the other goals, providing interoperability and using open standards
• funding - sustainable, partnership-based, drawing on a 'wow factor'

Deciding concrete next steps and actions was difficult when so many stakeholders were represented - and when so many more potential stakeholders could be listed. By the end of a long day, it seems like AgNIC, NAL and USAIN are tasked to mobilize a group of champions to elaborate a clear and compelling vision for a US based NDLA, together with an inclusive planning process that brings in additional allies, enablers, and funders.

Participants eagerly await the next phase in the evolution of the NDLA as a tool that will both transform agricultural information discovery and delivery in the US and become a critical component of a global agricultural information system.

Story compiled by Peter Ballantyne
Tags: agricultural information usa usain agnic

USAIN unveils new web site

Ithaca, 10 October. After almost 10 years on the web, the United States Agricultural Information Network today unveiled a completely updated and renewed web site. Calling it the network's "face to the world" webmaster Carla Long Casler highlighted the technical upgrading that lay behind the changes. Ten years accumulation of HTML codes were fully reviewed "line by line" and brought up to current standards. Content was also fully reviewed and cleaned up - "old files were archived or deleted - anything unnecessary was removed. We're starting fresh with a site with no broken links or 'orphaned' files."

Reflecting the notion that the site is the USAIN 'face on the world,' Carla revealed that the web site attracts a worldwide audience - with many visitors from Taiwan, Germany, China, Poland, Canada, Japan, France, Brazil and other countries. So what pages are they visiting? Web statistics show very popular pages to be:

• AgZines -A Harvest of Free Agricultural Journals
• the USAIN guide to accessing extension and experiment station publications
• and the USAIN page with resources for librarians in developing countries

The USAIN Communications Committee invites feedback on the web site.

Tags: agricultural information usa usain

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station digitizes content for institutional repository

Ithaca, 9 October. At the USAIN Conference today, Rob McGeachin of the Texas A&M University presented his experiences setting up an institutional repository of Texas Agricultural Experiment Station documents - specifically the Bulletin of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

The project aims to develop agricultural content for the planned US National Digital Library for Agriculture and make Texas agricultural content available to the world. As part of the project, Rob and his colleagues are scanning, converting to PDF, and indexing early issues of the Bulletin and making them available through a Dspace application. In addition to the search functionality of TxSpace the metadata records are harvested and included in search engines such as Google or OISTER.

Tags: agricultural information usa texas

USDA Economics, Statistics and Market Information System

The recently re-designed web site of the USDA Economics, Statistics and Market Information System (ESMIS) provides fast and free access to nearly 2500 USDA economic reports and datasets.

Hosted by the Mann Library at Cornell University, the site covers US and international agriculture and related topics from the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and World Agricultural Outlook Board. Most reports on the site are text files that contain time-sensitive economics and trade information; most data sets are in spreadsheet format and include time-series data that are updated yearly.

Tags: agricultural information usa economics

Indian farmers get phone-based agriculture information service

A new phone-based information service for farmers has been launched in northern India. Led by OneWorld South Asia, the programme will bring agricultural and veterinary advice to farmers in selected villages in North India. Using the power of digitally engineered information the farmers are able to get answers by phone to questions that are key to improving their lives.

OneWorld Project Manager TN Anuradha said: "We aim to use the power of ICT to deliver content and capability to farmers using the most-used communication tool – the phone in this instance – for this initiative. We have done this based on feedback from grassroots communities and farmers on how this technology will best provide them the information they need."

Tags: agricultural information india ICT

NAL user needs assessment

Earlier this year the US National Agricultural Library carried out a needs assessment to identify the library’s current and potential customers; to determine those customers’ information needs, sources, and behaviors; and to assess their view of NAL’s existing and potential services.

Key findings include:

• The AGRICOLA database and DigiTop, the Digital Desktop Library for USDA, are NAL's strongest brands
  
• While most respondents (81%) rely heavily upon the Web as a source for information, traditional sources are still important with books (63%), academic journals (62%), scientific and technical information (54%), and conference proceedings and papers (50%) rounding out the top five spots for all respondents.
  
• When specifically seeking agricultural information, 54 percent find it through a search engine, with Google the search engine of choice (81%).

While NAL has the opportunity to become "the number one resource for all things related to food, agriculture, and forestry" the "quality information that NAL collects and distributes remains under-utilized" and "NAL needs to invest its energy in the Web environment and fervently market its digital offerings."

Tags: agricultural information usa nal

Agricultural extension using the Web

An article by John G. Schmitz at the University of Illinois provides a very useful overview of 'web-based extension.' Drawing on experiences from the USA, he provides recommendations to help organizations quicken their transition to web-based delivery, discusses some trends in web-based extension, and lists some key policy issues that impact web-based extension.
Among his recommendations are:

• Content is King
  
• Create an Online Crop Bulletin
  
• Post Handbooks for Farmers
  
• Don't Re-invent the Wheel
  
• Plan for Convergence of Media and Reusability of Content
  
• Adopt Web Standards
  
• Create both National and Regional Portals
  
• Try Web Delivery of Traditional Programs
  
• Require Extension Staff to Produce and Post Content
  
• Train Extension Staff to use the Web
  

His four main policy challanges are:

• Collaboration between Content-Providers: extension services around the world will better reach and help farmers if government, NGOs and Agribusiness collaborate to contribute content.
  
• Open Content: What are still needed are the policies that will draw domestic and international content-providers together to set up searchable open content respositories and digital libraries for agriculture.
  
• Infrastructure for Web Delivery to Rural Areas: Creative, coordinated funding is needed to explore and jump-start web technologies to connect the rural world.
• Coordination between Funding Agencies: Agencies that fund agricultural extension and related missions must better coordinate their efforts. Examples of successful coordination are there, but many times reported collaborations do not appear substantial.

Tags: agricultural information extension

Communication strategies to enhance the uptake of research

A recent synthesis study across six Renewable Natural Resources Research programmes funded by DFID looked into their communication activities and derives lessons for improved practice. Written by Pat Norrish, the 6-page brief shows that effective communication for research uptake promotion requires good planning, stakeholder engagement, and the development of useful and usable communication products. Achieving these elements requires specialist input, adequate time and resources, and learning from practice.

Key messages include:

• Successful engagement with stakeholders is central to communication for uptake promotion
• Diverse communication skills are needed for effective communication
• Dissemination of information via electronic media is widespread, but little is known about the reach and effectiveness of this communication pathway
• Good communication practices are sometimes shared, but often remain confined to the project
• The skills, resources and time to achieve effective communication are typically underestimated in project planning and implementation.

The web site of the of the Natural Resources System Programme provides access to all the knowledge and products developed over 11 years of research on the integrated management of natural resources around the developing world.

Tags: agricultural information research communication