Food, Agriculture and Nutrition sessions at SLA

FAN Activities at the 2007 SLA Annual Conference include a mix of networking sessions , paper presentations and panels.

The action kicks off on 3 June with a reception; on 4 June speakers from USAIN, AgNIC, IAALD, FAO, and the National Agricultural Library will address 'new trends in food, nutrition and agriculture associations, societies, and libraries'; and on the 5th, panelists and vendors dig deeper into 'federated searching' experiences and tools.

This is followed by several contributed papers on the issue 'increasing access to information' - including:

• Electronic Publishing Practices of Scholarly Societies in the Agricultural Sciences;
  
• Pushing Information to the Patron: the BANR blog (Biological Sciences, Agricultural, and Natural Resources) in Action;
  
• A Redesign of the USDA Economics, Statistics and Market Information System: Lessons Learned in Project Management.

Source: Food for Thought - Bulletin of the Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Division of SLA

More on the SLA 2007 Conference

Tags: agricultural information conference

PMN Launches Agricultural Web Search

Looking for reliable agricultural and applied plant science information? Then you need PMN’s Institutional Search to easily find credible answers. This new search function is a collaboration of the Plant Management Network and its University Partners. Look for 'Ag and Plant Science Info from Partner Institutions' under the 'Search' tab at www.plantmanagementnetwork.org.

"The new search engine provides increased exposure for PMN’s Institutional Partners and greater usage of their online Extension publications and other agricultural information. And it shows the impact of each institution’s contribution to agricultural science and education to its stakeholders," said Miles Wimer, PMN's director.

PMN covers the range of plant science disciplines, including agronomy, crop science, ecology, entomology, forage management, forestry, horticulture, IPM, natural resources, nematology, plant pathology, range science, seed science, soil science, turf management, and weed science. Its primary audience of agricultural practitioners includes crop consultants, growers, extension educators, researchers, instructors, and students from around the globe.

Partner universities and research institutes also receive unlimited institutional access to all PMN subscription content, including four peer-reviewed journals and many other electronic resources. For information on the PMN Partners Program, email partners@plantmanagementnetwork.org.

Tags: agricultural information

Targeting learning and knowledge sharing in natural resource management

"Central to the process of development are the concepts of learning to learn and sharing knowledge."

IFAD recently published a short report on 'Community-based natural resource management' - that explores and shows how knowledge has been "managed, disseminated and used" in various of its projects in recent years.

It argues that planners and implementers of natural resource development projects need to 'target learnng.' In the past they have not always profited from the lessons learned – either information is lost or it is not easily accessible or changing circumstances may limit its value. "Whatever the reason, learning from the past still makes sense. Knowledge does not wear out – although it is sometimes difficult to find, synthesize and use."

The report brings twelve case studies that show how knowledge is managed, disseminated and effectively used by others. "They show that people can learn to learn and that learning is crucial to reducing poverty and to meeting the development challenges ahead."

The cases - from Niger, Peru, Cameroon, India, The Gambia, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Morocco, China, West Africa, Venezuela and Madagascar - are complemented by a short article bringing together some of the lessons on learning that are brought to the fore by the projects.

On 'Learning to learn':

Learning by doing is widely accepted as the most effective way of learning. However, it is a process and not a blue-print.

With the right inputs and stimulus, people can and do learn from each other.

People learn when they are motivated to learn, and empowerment can help create this condition.

On 'Lessons in learning':

Learning can take many forms, often several approaches are pursued simultaneously in order to achieve results.

‘Reinventing the wheel’ is is often seen as a failure to take advantage of what has gone before, it can also be an asset. Learning in this way can take people back to the fundamental principles of what they are doing, and this helps build stronger foundations, ownership and empowerment.

A long-term commitment, often slow, with setbacks, helps create the most favourable conditions for sustained learning.

Often, an outside stimulus provides the catalyst for development. It is important to recognize that many other ingredients are needed to create the right recipe: Identifying the ingredients, knowing how to mix them and then adding the outside stimulus are the keys to sustaining the learning and development process.

The circumstances must be right if people and institutions are to learn and to benefit from learning. People must have the desire to take up new ideas and learn new skills; organizations must be ready and willing to reform their institutional structures; poicies must be shaped to create an enabling environment.

Tags: agricultural information learning ifad

Conference: Image Management in Bio and Environmental Sciences

IAALD has teamed up with the UK eInformation Group to organise a one day workshop on Image Management in Bio and Environmental Sciences, in Manchester, on 31 May 2007.

Tags: agricultural information images iaald

Analyzing agricultural ICT projects in India

The new agricultural paradigm necessitates the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agricultural extension systems. To develop a strategy, the existing isolated ICT projects need to be studied critically on some parameters. Such critical issues include process impacts, factors related to farmers' influence on the success of ICT projects, and the effectiveness of functionaries involved in such projects.

To investigate these issues, three major agricultural ICT projects in India were selected, namely, the Gyandoot Project (Madhya Pradesh), Warna Wired Project (Maharashtra) and Ikisan Project (Andhra Pradesh). Sample respondents consisted of user farmers (n=240) and functionaries (n=180) of the three projects. Data related to process impacts, various factors related to farmers, their information needs, and the effectiveness of functionaries, were collected.

Analyses of process impacts revealed that these projects have made effective contribution and were adequately equipped in carrying out the activities. It was found that majority of the users were small and marginal farmers. The study outlined the important information needs for these three different regions of India. The study also revealed that irrespective of computer illiteracy, ICT could be harnessed effectively through human interfaces in the form of functionaries at kiosks. The effectiveness of the functionaries was found to be moderate to high.

Based on the study, it is recommended that the government should take up large-scale ICT initiatives to back up resource poor farmers. Future initiatives should have effective functionaries who have high orientation towards ICT extension, faith in people, and basic agricultural education.

Source: A critical analysis of agricultural information communication technology (ICT) projects in India: implications for developing world. / Meera, S.N. , Jhamtani, A. , Rao, D.U.M. [Division of Agricultural Extension, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi - 110 012, India.] / Tropical Agricultural Research, 2003, Vol. 15, pp. 109-119.

This information is extracted from the CAB Abstracts database, available on many platforms including CAB Direct. It is provided by CABI to IAALD members and readers to enhance knowledge sharing and exchange on different aspects of information and communication in agriculture and related disciplines. Copyright CAB International, reproduced with permission.

Tags: agricultural information india cabi ICT extension

KIT launches portal on rural innovation systems

The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam recently launched an information portal on Rural Innovation Systems.

The portal provides access to free, full-text electronic documents on the Rural Innovation Systems (RIS) approach, both as an analytical concept and a development tool. It is also a unique entry point for all other Internet sources on the topic, including newsletters, discussion groups, websites, bibliographic databases, and directories of organizations and projects.

Tags: agricultural information research kit

CABI blog 'hand picks and carefully sorts' information

A newish blog "is the the place where the content specialists who put together CAB Abstracts highlight just some of the vast amount of research information that goes into the products that they make."

The blog from CABI - entitled 'hand picked... and carefully sorted' - is intended to be a signpost that, to quote Bruce Sterling: tells us what to access and what to pay attention to

Tags: agricultural information cabi blogs