Managing AgResearch information in Asia-Pacific

In April 2008, organizations participating in the Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS) met in Bangkok. The meeting report is now available.

In his introductory remarks, GFAR's Ajit Maru explained that the "main objective of the current workshop was to apply a de-centralized networking approach at regional level through APARIS and its linkages with the National Agricultural Information Systems (NAIS) of the Asia-Pacific using newly available tools/applications/frameworks such as RSS feeds, AgriFeeds, and CIARD."

The report has information on each of the main sessions of the workshop; the major recommendations of the plenary session include:

• Agreed upon standards are a pre-requisite for efficient sharing of research information among all stakeholders.
  
• New tools/frameworks such as Global Web Ring, AgriOrg, SIST, RAEL, ARDGateway, RSS Feeds, and AgriFeeds should be integrated at national and regional levels. CIARD as a global advocacy agenda for stronger national public information systems in agriculture could be a source of support for these initiatives.
  
• APARIS should continue its advocacy efforts for greater sensitization of NARS leaders and senior managers.
  
• A Persistent theme is the issue of knowledge documentation and its dissemination to small-scale farmers through a variety of ARD Information Systems.
  
• APARIS and NAIS should promote the use of all ICTs, including Radio, TV, mobile phones, CD-ROMS, Internet, call-centers, and print-publications as diverse agricultural extension situations require matching technologies.