IFLA 2010 AgLibraries group: Current Trends in Agricultural Information Services for Farmers

The IFLA Agricultural Libraries Special Interest Group in association with IAALD (International Association of Agricultural information Specialists) invites papers to be presented at a two-hour session to be held at the World Library and Information Congress: 76th IFLA General Conference at Gothenburg, Sweden, 10-15 August 2010.

Information needs of farmers center around the problems such as seeds, soil fertility, soil erosion, climatic conditions, fertilizers, pest hazards, weed control, water management, farm credit, post-harvesting, transportation, marketing and so forth. Timely provision of information is essential in solving these problems. However, the impact of agricultural research and innovations on farmers is not much either because they have no access to such vital information or it is poorly disseminated. Information provided is mainly focused on policy makers and researchers with little attention paid to the information needs of farmers. It is more so in developing countries and particularly small-scale farmers.

This session is aimed at discussing current trends in providing farmer-oriented information services in developed and developing countries. The issues to be addressed include:

· How do agricultural research institutes and universities in the country cater to the information needs of farmers

· What strategies are being adopted by extension service providers to meet the information needs of farmers

· How do private firms/agencies disseminate product based information to farmers

· What are the barriers and constraints in utilization of agricultural information by farmers in the country or region

· How the social networking tools, mobile phones, internet, and other information communication technologies are used by farmers

· How digital diagnostic services are provided to farmers

· Recent developments in providing open access to agricultural extension bulletins

· What role is being played by international organizations such as USDA, FAO, CGIAR, DFID, CTA in facilitating transfer of agricultural information to farmers

Papers should be based on facts rather than theoretical aspects focusing on any of the facets.

Submissions

Interested authors are encouraged to submit their proposal on any of these aspects for consideration. The deadline for submitting a detailed abstract (max 500 words) along with full author details is 31 December 2009. Full paper is due not later than 30 April 2010 and must be original not published elsewhere

· Abstracts and full papers should be submitted by email

· Papers should be of 10 pages maximum, single spaced

· Papers should be in English with a one-page abstract

· Each presenter would be allowed 15 minutes for a summary delivery of the paper followed by clarifications and discussion

· The presenter should not read the paper

· The author(s) should indicate personal full contact details and include summary curriculum vitae with the paper

Please note that all fees, including registration to the conference, travel, accommodation etc. are the responsibility of the authors.
On review of the abstracts, selected presenters will be notified by 15 February 2010.

Please submit your proposal by 31 December 2009 to :

Deva Eswara Reddy, PhD
Convener, IFLA Agricultural Libraries SIG
Associate Professor of Library Science
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX, USA
E-mail: dereddy@tamu.edu