DRAFT

Proceedings of the Expert Consultation Workshop “Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Technology:

the road ahead”, 26-27 May 2004, IICA, San José, Costa Rica

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................................2 1. Agenda of the Workshop ........................................................................................... 3 2. Opening Session......................................................................................................... 4 3. Session 1: National and Sub-regional Agricultural Information Systems: situation

and perspectives ......................................................................................................... 5 4. Session 2: Regional Agricultural Information Systems in LAC and other regions... 7 5. Session 3: Towards a Strategy for a Regional Agricultural Information System in

LAC............................................................................................................................ 8 6. Closing Session........................................................................................................ 11

Appendix 1 compilation of national information systems in operation.................... 13 Appendix 2: Workshop Agenda................................................................................ 14 Appendix 3. List of workshop participants............................................................... 16

2

Introduction In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) there are several regional and national efforts that attempt to improve the flow of agricultural technological information through Internet based information and communication technologies (ICTs). One of these efforts at the regional level is INFOTEC, the Scientific and Technological Information System for the Agricultural Sector in the Americas, with three years of operation within IICA’s platform Infoagro.NET. INFOTEC evolved in response to an initiative of the Forum for the Americas for Agricultural Research and Technology Development, FORAGRO. In the INFOTEC platform, tools have been developed to fulfill the following functions through Internet (and email): maintain the subscribers informed on the last events in agricultural technology and facilitate the exchange of information among interested actors. At the national level, a recent compilation of information systems in operation carried out by IICA can be seen in Appendix 1. E-discussion previous to the Workshop INFOTEC has always favored a service-oriented, participatory, demand-driven approach. Since the regional workshop would necessarily include only a reduced number of participants, we decided to organize an electronic discussion in infotec.ws, to broaden the scope of consulted opinions. Around 250 persons registered in the e-discussion and in the 2 weeks it lasted, more than 200 opinions were received. Based on the premise that there is an enormous potential to improve the flow of information on agricultural technology in LAC through the use of ICT tools, the forum participants were asked to give their opinions on the prospects, the bottlenecks, the possible solutions, and the training priorities with regard to ICT tools for agricultural technology. Of the messages sent to the forum, a brief list of the basic constraints or bottlenecks proposed by the participants was extracted and classified into four categories:

1. Difficulties for access in rural areas. With the result of increasing the digital gap even within the countries (“rural gap”). This situation is even more marked for the end users of agricultural technology, the producers, but also affects technical personnel in these areas. The elements that were mentioned as cause for the limited access are: - Problems of connectivity - Problems of availability of equipment, because of lack of resources - Problems of basic infrastructure (electricity and communications) - Ignorance of the ICTs and their potential - Lack of long-term governmental strategies that have widespread connectivity as their

purpose. On many occasions this is because of ignorance and/or lack of political will. 2. Problems of content (of agricultural technology information on the Internet in general).

- Large volume of information, for those which have access - Lack of systematization of the available information - Information structured according to the criteria of information providers and not users - Lack of content validation (“internal filters” on the part of generators of information) - Lack of guarantees on the quality of information - Few efforts to recover indigenous knowledge - Lack of monitoring of the needs of information by the users - Gap in the existence of “protocols” for online publications (international Agencies

3

should suggest these) - “Heavy”, difficult to open contents that hinder access or inhibit communication - Few efforts to adapt the contents to each type of receptors of the information - Failure to keep up-to-date the contents in official sites, which are supposedly more

reliable. - Scarcity of technical information in Spanish - Greater part of the technological information is academic documents, that do not

meet the needs of those which should use it

3. Problems of the mechanisms: - Few mechanisms that favor dialogue and feedback on contents on Internet - Lack of convergence of Internet with other means and communication channels. - Lack of convergences and agreements among the providers of contents that fuel the

ICTs (international agencies, technology providers, transfer agents, trainers and providers of services)

- The mechanisms are not designed for the different types of users - Lack of defense mechanisms against spam, virus and worms, that imply an additional

cost and de-motivate the use of ICTs

4. Problems of lack of training - Lack of training programs, for both for technical personnel and producers, on the

ways to take advantage of the available ICT tools - Few initiatives to concentrate efforts on training to “facilitators” or “info-mediaries”,

which can be a key link in order to reach the end users. - Little utilization of the ICTs for training different types of users in agricultural

technology subjects. FORAGRO, in collaboration with GFAR, organized an Expert Consultation Workshop “Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Technology: the road ahead”, on 26-27 May 2004, at IICA headquarters, San José, Costa Rica. This document is the proceedings of the Workshop.

1. Agenda of the Workshop The main objective of the workshop was the definition of a strategy to develop and strengthen the Regional Agricultural Information System of FORAGRO, called INFOTEC, based on the strengths and collaborative advantages of all the stakeholders, within and outside the region. The agenda (see Appendix 2) included the following sessions:

1. Opening session 2. Session 1: National and Sub-regional Agricultural Information Systems: situation

and perspectives 3. Session 2: Regional Agricultural Information Systems in LAC and other regions 4. Session 3: Towards a Strategy for a Regional Agricultural Information System in

LAC 5. Closing session

The list of participants is included as Appendix 3.

4

2. Opening Session In his welcome message, Dr. Mario Seixas, Director of the Technical Cooperation Secretariat and Associate Deputy Director General of IICA, expressed his pleasure that IICA could host this workshop on information and communication technologies at the service of agricultural technology, in which all the participants could share their experiences about the generation of knowledge for technology, as well as design new work strategies for a Latin American information system. He briefed on the intense renewal that IICA is carrying out in the area of information, with the ultimate goal of seeking to increase production, organization, exchange and use of information and knowledge for the development of rural life and agriculture in the Americas. He expressed his certainty that the results of this meeting will have significant impact on the quality of technical cooperation, both for the improvement of effective production, and for strengthening the role and the contribution of science and technology. He reiterated IICA’s interest in efficient knowledge and information management, and specifically its support for initiatives such as INFOTEC and other information services devoted to agriculture. Finally, he thanked GFAR for the support in holding this meeting and all the participants for their presence, wishing the greatest of success for this workshop. Dr. Jorge Ardila, Director of Technology and Innovation, IICA and responsible for the Technical Secretariat of FORAGRO, briefed the participants on FORAGRO (Forum of the Americas for Agricultural Research and Technology Development) and the importance of its information sharing system (INFOTEC) for the Forum and its Action Plan. He emphasized the different types of stakeholders that constitute FORAGRO, including public and private research centers, universities, NGOs, producer organizations and the international centers located in LAC. He described FORAGRO as the regional instance for dialogue, articulation, alliances, political positioning and S&T development. He informed the participants on how FORAGRO fits into the regional system for technology and innovation in agriculture, with all its components: FONTAGRO, the subregional programs (“PROCIs”), and the national, regional and international research systems. Also, how the Forum relates with similar fora in other continents through GFAR, highlighting the potential benefits of inter-fora links for information sharing in the future. He stressed the importance of this workshop as a way to work together towards the definition of the future of INFOTEC, enhancing the services it renders to all of FORAGRO stakeholders. In his statement as representative of the GFAR Secretariat, Jean François Giovannetti, Special Advisor, GFAR, briefed on GFAR, characterizing it as a multi-stakeholder initiative undertaken by the NARS in 1998. All the stakeholders belong to the GFAR Steering Committee, which meets once a year. The four main components of the new GFAR 2004-2006 Business Plan are: 1) to facilitate the launching of innovative research partnerships through a multi-stakeholders platform; 2) the development of Inter-regional collaboration; 3) immediate implementation of a strategy for “Advocacy, liaison and public awareness” to add voice and GFAR perspective to the global debates and institutional issues of global importance; and 4) to strengthen the exchange of information, experience and knowledge within and amongst all GFAR stakeholders, through EGFAR, support to the Regional Agricultural Information Systems (RAIS) of the Regional Fora, and the specific project GLOBAL.RAIS. He informed on three good news to carry out this plan: The first one is the ongoing commitment of its regular donors, the second one is the recent commitment of a new donor, Canada, and ACDI/CIDA to GFAR activities, and the third is the operational launching of the DURAS project funded by MAE, France.

5

He stressed the urgent need that development strategies for agriculture and the rural sector be more centred on information sharing and knowledge management. He highlighted the crucial role of Workshop in order to promote a bottom up process leading to the definition of a regional strategic agenda for INFOTEC, acting as the RAIS for FORAGRO and also as the voice of LAC during the Inter-Regional Workshop on ICM for AR4D to be held on the 10th and 11th of June this year in FAO Headquarters. Ms. Fulvia Bonaiuti of the GFAR Secretariat made the presentation on GFAR’s Global.RAIS Project and the lessons learned as of today (See Appendix 4). The GLOBAL.RAIS is a European Union supported project of 16 months duration which began in February 2003. It aims at promoting linkages between regional organizations by linking their RAIS and by sharing and exchanging information. The GLOBAL.RAIS project has already organized 4 Regional Workshops for AARINENA, APAARI, CACAARI and FARA regional organizations, and this FORAGRO - INFOTEC Workshop is the last in the series. An Inter-Regional Workshop is planned to be held in June, 2004. The Regional Workshops were structured for a diagnosis of strengths and weakness at the national level, identifying collaborative advantages of NAIS; the definition of a regional strategy for RAIS, with information contents prioritized and functional requirements identified; the elaboration of a plan of work and budget for the RAIS and discussions regarding a RAIS Steering Committee. The Inter-Regional Workshop will focus on Lessons learned from the 5 RAIS Workshops, Collaboration with global key players in ICM (WAICENT, CGIAR, etc) and Elaboration of a Global Agenda for ICM in AR4SD (GLOBAL.RAIS phase 2).

3. Session 1: National and Sub-regional Agricultural Information Systems: situation and perspectives

Andean Region Lornel Rivas, from INIA Venezuela briefed on the current situation of an agricultural research institute of the Andean region, with regard to the technological, organizational and human factors that can influence the effectiveness of knowledge transfer and use. In his presentation he proposed the relationships between such factors and, consequently, the potential strengths and critical points where to target future strategies that facilitate the integration of efforts, a more effectively use of available technologies and to articulate better with other networks in the environment. The presentation, in Spanish, is available in Appendix 5. Caribbean Region César Amado Martínez, of the Center for Agriculture and Forest Development (CEDAF), of the Dominican Republic, presented the establishment of the Ágora Portal, which serves the National Agriculture and Forest Research System of his country, in an experience of alliance of a nongovernmental organization with the Government. The Portal is part of the Network of Agriculture and Forest Documentation (REDIAF) and it offers news, publications, bibliographic consultations on-line, information on events, among others. The greatest benefits of the services of the portal are obtained by researchers and technical extension workers, as well as professors and students. Among the main limitations are the lack of proficiency in computer tools on the part of many users and the difficulties of Internet access that they face. (See appendix 6)

6

Central Region Roberto Tejada, of the Honduran Foundation of Agricultural Research (FHIA), made a brief description of the background of ICT use in Honduras, pointing out the gradual increase in the available infrastructure and in the number of users. He indicated that there still is a great deal to do in order to reduce the gap of access to this type of technologies, but that there is a potential to expand the coverage at the national level. He also mentioned that FHIA is one of the private institutions that makes a more widespread use of ICTs to disseminate technological information to the agricultural sector of Honduras, that it is integrating the Network of Sustainable Development of Honduras and that it administers the Agricultural Products Market Information System of Honduras (SIMPAH). The presentation, in Spanish, is available in Appendix 7. Samuel Salazar, from the Foundation for Technological Innovation, FIAGRO in El Salvador, briefed on the work carried out in El Salvador to promote technological innovation in the agricultural sector. FIAGRO created the first technological portal in El Salvador, giving access to more than 4000 users. He pointed out that there still are many constraints for massive access to ICTs and that it is necessary to join regional efforts to lower costs and reach more users. He also presented a series of new services which will be provided through the portal, such as a documentation center, e-learning, e-commerce and website development for small and medium enterprises, as well as the creation of a Virtual Training Institute. The presentation, in Spanish, is available in Appendix 8. Fabio Rojas, from INBIO, Costa Rica, presented their experience regarding generation and use of information for conservation. He described INBIO as a scientific and technological organization committed to the sustainable use of biodiversity through the generation of information and the promotion of conservation initiatives. Some practical experiences of information use for biodiversity conservation he listed were: territorial systematization, environmental interpretation, establishment and management of protected areas, bio-alphabetization, and development projects. Among the lessons learned from the INBIO experience, he pointed out the need for access and management of many different types of information for decision makers, the importance of timeliness since it’s not just having the information but “being there”, and the need for “interpreters” to serve as links between scientists and their audience. The presentation, in Spanish, is available in Appendix 9. Northern Region Carlos Mejía, from INIFAP, Mexico, presented his country’s NAIS, the Integral Information System on Agri-food and Fishery, as a portal to access each institution’s information system. He proceeded to describe INIFAP, as the main agricultural research institution in the country, and its website, which gives access to all the services rendered by INIFAP to the users and all the products offered in each of its three main sections: crops, livestock and forestry. Examples include weather information, laboratory services –including harvest predictions-, seeds, technologies, and publications. He pointed out that besides the internet, Inifap also transfers technology through other media, such as CDs, radio programs, personal visits, seminars, courses, books, demonstrative plots, video and exchanges. The presentation is available in Appendix 10.

7

Southern Region: Dagoberto Villarroel, of the Agriculture Research Institute (INIA) of Chile, presented the development and evolution of ICTs at the national level, pointing out the level reached in aspects of education and training, electronic government, dissemination of access, ICT industry and legal normative framework. Among the main difficulties he mentioned the digital gap and access to the technology; educational gaps; gaps in research-development and gaps in the enterprising capacity of the companies. The presentation is available in Appendix 11. Marcelo H. Bosch of INTA Argentina pointed out the need for conceptualizing and devising the strategy, scope, integration and technological level of the information systems, through a 10-year socio-technological exploration. For operationalization, it is fundamental to integrate interdisciplinary and inter-institutional teams at the national, regional and global levels, retrieving the best practices, procedures, norms and standards. The ultimate objective is “to make accessible the available information”, something simple to state and complex to implement. The presentation is available in Appendix 12. Moacir Pedroso Júnior, from the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária Embrapa, Brazil, briefed on the situation in his country regarding adoption of ICTs in the different segments of agri-business and highlighted the concern of the Brazilian Government with Digital Inclusion as a means of expanding the scope of benefits from ICT use in agri-business. He also presented the different categories of sites currently available in Brazil, such as sites for agro-climatology, agricultural-economic zoning, and satellite image applications, among others. The presentation is available in Appendix 13.

4. Session 2: Regional Agricultural Information Systems in LAC and other regions

Federico Sancho, from IICA, briefed on the SIDALC documentation system, defining it as a hemispheric initiative with the objective of facilitating, through national library networks and a common platform, the access to agricultural documentation produced, especially, in Latin America and the Caribbean. He presented search examples in the library catalogue databases available through SIDALC. Currently they are in the process of formulation and negotiation of SIDALC II, in which they wish to achieve the expansion of services towards a virtual library, links with existing agricultural information services, incorporation of new information contents, the decentralization of the system and sustainability of networks in member countries. The presentation is available in Appendix 14. Emmanuel Picado, Information Technology and Systems specialist at IICA, presented the Technical Information Management System infoagro.NET. This system, whose objective is to facilitate information sharing and exchange by users, has more than ten thousand registered subscribers and receives around 450 thousand hits per month. Each subscriber receives weekly bulletins from each of the technical areas of his interest that are included in Infoagro.net: Trade and negotiations, Agricultural Technology and Innovation, Plant and Animal Health and Food Safety, Sustainable Rural Development and Ag-industry. The Infoagro.net platform, constituted by modules for each type of information resource, allows decentralized and remote administration. Mr. Picado

8

stressed the importance of teamwork for the success of this information management system. The full presentation is available in Appendix 15. Viviana Palmieri briefed on the LAC-RAIS, FORAGRO’s INFOTEC: the Scientific and Technological Information System for the Agricultural Sector in the Americas, which is a joint initiative from the regional forum (FORAGRO), IICA (in charge of the FORAGRO Technical Secretariat) and GFAR1. INFOTEC began as a demand from FORAGRO for an information sharing system, and as such, is inclusive of all the Forum stakeholders. Its main objective of improving information flow on agricultural technology is pursued through three specific objectives: keep users informed of new advances, allow information sharing through its platform and offer communication tools. Ms Palmieri described the way in which this is carried out within the Infoagro.NET platform and its modules for news, full text documents, events, links, technology market, weekly bulletins, institutional directory and, recently, experts. She demonstrated how all the modules allow online inclusion of information by registered users and multiple searches. The presentation is Appendix 16. Marc Bernard, from EARD-InfoSys+, shared his experience from the European continent, in representation of RAIS from other regions. EARD-InfoSys+ is the European Information System on Agricultural Research for Development (ARD). Dr. Bernard briefed on the institutional frame, based on the European Network of National Nodes. From EIARD-InfoSys, the information system for the EIARD, a policy instrument, EARD-InfoSys+ is now focusing on the entire agricultural research community in Europe and is expected to provide Tools and Services for all ARD stakeholders, through a demand driven service. He showed the functioning of all the features in InfoSys+, which include a relational database that links people, projects, organizations, news, events and funding opportunities; an ALERT system; a strategy of decentralised content management and collaborative editing and additional features such as NodeXML, group organizer, web-mail and E-Journals. He stressed his aim to facilitate exchange with other RAIS and NAIS in order to contribute to the build-up of an efficient global forum in collaboration with GFAR. His presentation is Appendix 17. Dr. Bernard also presented the Rural Universe Network, RUN, a demand driven ICT development for the benefit of the rural population developed by the German Centre for Documentation and Information in Agriculture (ZADI). This network has as its objectives the development of adapted tools to facilitate the use of ICT in rural areas, to provide relevant content in appropriate format, to develop concepts an strategies for the establishment of tele-centres, rural information brokers and networks in rural areas that operate on a sustainable basis, to promote awareness concerning the opportunities that ICT offers for rural development, and to promote the active participation of the rural population in the information society. The available tools can be seen in the full presentation in Appendix 18.

5. Session 3: Towards a Strategy for a Regional Agricultural Information System in LAC

Before beginning the working-group sessions, two introductory presentations were made, as additional elements for the discussions. First, the participants were informed on the details of the e-discussion organized through INFOTEC and the problems

1 Note: although for convenience purposes this presentation was made after Dr. Bernard’s, for the clarity

of this document it is described in its original order.

9

identified through this exercise. The main elements of the electronic forum were summarized in the introduction of this document, so they will not be repeated here. The vision of the e-discussion participants on problems for ICT use in agricultural technology was made by Viviana Palmieri and the full presentation can be seen as Appendix 19. Vladimir Quintero presented elements for the discussion with a view on tools for the future. He briefed the participants on the current fields of influence of ICTs, stressing the importance of knowledge for agriculture and the great growth in internet users in LAC during the last years. He summarized the possible functions of a Regional Information System, grouping them in knowledge and information brokerage; articulation between institutions, services and reference centers; training and technical support; observatories of agricultural technologies, ICTs, and national agriculture and ICT policies; portal; reference center for information resources and funding opportunities; communication site; and promotion of standards. The presentation is Appendix 20. For the working group sessions, all the participants were divided into three groups and all three groups analyzed the questions included in the guidelines (Appendix 21). The first working group session dealt with clients and services at the institutional and country level, according to the experience in each of the participant’s information service.

Clients Services Researchers Scientific and technological information,

communication tools, education and training, research data management, indicators and statistics, studies

Extension agents and other information intermediaries

Technological information, market related information, indicators and statistics, education and training, communication tools, weather / real time data

Professors, students Scientific and technological information, communication tools, education and training, indicators and statistics, studies

Producers/Farmers’ Organizations Technological information and Market related information, education and training

Senior research managers and policy makers

Research management information, scientific and technological information, Development and statistics indicators, studies

Agribusiness: Input providers, market intermediaries, rural entrepreneurs

Technological information, market related information, communication tools, studies, education and training

Media, civil society Development and statistics indicators, news on achievements and issues, research management information

In spite of efforts to assign priorities to the clients of national systems, the groups differed and workshop participants concluded that priorities vary widely depending on the objectives of each system and that they should be driven by demand and supply. Nevertheless, the order in which clients are presented in the above table corresponds to the order assigned by one of the groups and more or less shared by another group.

10

As to services, two of the three groups concluded that technological information is first priority, while statistics and indicators, research management information, real-time information (market, weather) and training were ranked relatively high. The gaps that were identified in each of the priority services include insufficient availability, inadequate format or presentation (for each client), problems with credibility and update and lack of standardization. The documents presented by each group are in Appendix 22. The second working group session dealt with similar issues at the regional level, the most important clients and services that a RAIS could provide were identified as:

Clients Services for added value Specialists in ICM for agriculture (Ag-IS managers at national or institutional level)

Capacity building (tools, seminars, e-learning platforms, communication spaces, exchange of experiences and methodologies), Cooperation (synergies for promotion of services, joint efforts for tool development and fund raising), Organization (standards, policies and strategies), IS impact studies

Researchers, scientists Scientific and technological information, technical knowledge bases, communication tools (e-fora), capacity building in ICT use (e-learning), research data management, experts and projects databases, exchange of specialists, specific studies, information on rules and regulations, bulletins

Extension agents Technical knowledge bases, information on prices, communication tools, capacity building in ICT use (e-learning), experts and projects databases, specific studies, information on rules and regulations, bulletins

Producers/Farmers’ Organizations Technological information and Market related information (prices), capacity building in ICT use (e-learning), bulletins and alerts

Professors, students Technical knowledge bases, information on prices, communication tools, capacity building in ICT use (e-learning), experts and projects databases

Policy makers Agricultural indicators data, information on prices, ICT Impact studies, RMIS, technological information, information on rules and regulations, experts and projects databases

Senior research managers RMIS, specific studies, information on rules and regulations, experts and projects databases

Agribusiness (at large) Technological information, statistical data, information on prices, special studies, bulletins and alerts

11

Other options identified for adding value at the regional level were:

a) Provide knowledge about what is available in other countries b) Promote the sharing of tools and standards for information sharing c) Organize an inventory of existing services d) Advance in the proposal of mini-projects e) Develop mechanisms for user feedback f) Promote actions to raise funds

Some of the gaps that were identified were:

a) Insufficient cooperation among the different information systems; b) Lack of universally accepted standards and structures for organizing information; c) Insufficient connectivity and telecommunication infrastructure; d) Scarce use of e-learning for capacity building due to high initial costs of platforms

and contents The conclusions presented by each group for this second working group session are in Appendix 23. The third working group session dealt with the Action Plan, possible contributions to development of GLOBAL.RAIS phase two and the need for monitoring and follow-up. Appendix 24 has the results of the discussion in each group. After the plenary discussion, the proposed action plan included the organization of a Work-Group (or Task Force) to begin sharing information immediately. This work group would also carry out the following activities:

• Gather information on current ICT-based information systems in the region, as a first step towards IS indicators.

• Draft a longer term action plan • Develop into a network (or thematic networks in the future) to promote

specific projects in ICT use, information sharing and exchange, and capacity building for different clients or users

The possible contribution from INFOTEC to GLOBAL.RAIS mentioned were: the willingness to share experiences, the fact that INFOTEC would serve as contact point between LAC and the other RAIS, and provide a window of information in agricultural technology. Regarding the need for monitoring and follow-up mechanism, the participants favored the idea of a Support Group rather than a formal Committee. They agreed that monitoring should be based on client feed-back and impact indicators.

6. Closing Session. The drafting committee presented the document included in Appendix 25 (original in Spanish), which contains a list of conclusions and an agreed action plan. The conclusions reached by the workshop participants were:

a) The range of potential clients of information systems, both at the national and regional levels, is very wide spectrum, including some outside the agriculture sector. Some clients are also information providers (generators).

b) New information services at the regional level can start almost immediately, based on what currently exists.

12

c) Even though there is abundant information in all the systems, there also exists a high dispersion and difficulty for its recovery.

d) The allocation of priorities among services at the national level depends on each institution and at the regional level it must depend on the supply and demand.

e) The regional systems are based on the supplies from national systems, adding value by consolidation, analysis and promotion.

f) The group identified a common need for training of different users in efficient use of ICTs.

g) The usefulness of a regional system is based on the generation of opportunities for sharing experiences and capacity building.

The action plan agreed by the workshop participants was:

a) Organize a Work-Group (or Task Force) to draft a strategy for INFOTEC with a 6-year vision, a work plan for 3 years and an action plan for one year.

b) Launch an inventory of current ARD ICT-based information systems, developing a format to be filled with available information leading to a SWOT analysis of the situation in the Region.

c) Convert this diagnosis into objectives and organize joint efforts to promote the results.

d) Beginning with the Work Group as a base, identify the leaders to create general and thematic networks that can promote specific projects in ICT use, ICM and information sharing and exchange, and capacity building.

A short term set of activities was also presented, taking into account the deadlines for the Inter-RAIS workshop and the presentation of the project for GLOBAL-RAIS phase two. The actions listed include the conformation of the Work Group, the presentation of the proceedings of this workshop (responsibility: INFOTEC), the inventory of systems, the preparation and validation of a strategic document, and presentation to GFAR in September (responsibility: Work Group). The closing remarks, by request from Dr. Jorge Ardila, chairman of the session, corresponded to Jean François Giovannetti, Marc Bernard, Ajit Maru and Fabio Rojas.

13

Appendix 1 compilation of national information systems in operation (Source: IICA, unpublished information facilitated by Federico Sancho, 2004)

Argentina Sistema de Información Geográfica Agropecuario–Program of Provincial Agricultural Services Sistema de Información Agropecuario- INTA

Bolivia Sistema de Información Agropecuario INFOAGRO–National Liaison Committee

Brazil Portal rural brasileiro Informações – Private company SIAGRO - Sistema de Agronegócios – Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (CNA)

Caribbean Service of Agricultural Information from the Caribbean- CARDI

Chile Agriculture–Ministry of Agriculture

Colombia Sistema de Información Agropecuario–Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Costa Rica Sistema de Información Agropecuario INFOAGRO–Costa Rican Agricultural Sector

Equador Servicio de Información y Censo Agropecuario–Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Equador Ecuarural–IICA/Equator

El Salvador FIAGRO Information System–Foundation for Agriculture Technological Innovation

Guatemala Servicio de Información INFOAGRO Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food

Honduras Agropyme–Swisscontact/Cosude Infoagro–Agriculture and Livestock Secretariat

Mexico Sistema de Información Integral Agroalimentaria y Pesquera–Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishing, and Food Sistema de Información Agropecuaria PRODUCE-PIEAES–Foundation Produces, Sonora

Nicaragua Sistema de Información Agrícola–Agriculture and Forestry Ministry Sistema Nacional de Información Ambiental- MARENA

Peru Sistema de Información Rural Urbano–Development agencies Sistema de Información Rural Arequipa–Cómite Manager Arequipa

Dominican Republic Information Service–State Secretariat of Agriculture

Uruguay MegaAgro.com–Private enterprise

Venezuela National Agricultural Information System– Inter-institutional Project Information System and Agricultural Documentation- Fundacite Infoagro Zulia–Corporzulia/IICA/MAT

14

Appendix 2: Workshop Agenda

Wednesday May 26

8:15 Registration Opening session

8:30 Welcome message Mario Seixas, Director of the

Technical Cooperation Secretariat and Associate Deputy Director General of IICA

8:40 Statement by FORAGRO Technical Secretariat:

Jorge Ardila, Director of Technology and Innovation, IICA

8:50 Statement by the representative of GFAR Jean François Giovannetti, GFAR Secretariat

9:00 GFAR’s GLOBAL.RAIS Project and lessons learned as of today

Fulvia Bonaiuti, GFAR Secretariat

9:20 Coffee break Session 1

National and Sub-regional Agricultural Information Systems: situation and perspective Chairman: Jorge Ardila

9:40 Andean Region: Critical factors for knowledge reuse in Andean research institutes

Lornel Rivas, INIA Venezuela

9:55 Caribbean Region: National [Information] System of Agriculture and Forest Research of the Dominican Republic

César Amado Martínez, Manager of Communication and Information, CEDAF

10:10

Central Region: experiences and limitations in communication of technological knowledge: • Honduras and the case of FHIA

Roberto Tejada, Manager of Communications FHIA

10:25 • El Salvador and the case of FIAGRO Samuel Salazar, FIAGRO, E.S. 10:40 • Costa Rica and the case of INBio Fabio Rojas, Manager of the

Publishing House INBio 10:55 Northern Region: the case of Mexico Carlos Mejía, INIFAP 11:10 Southern Region:

• Chile Dagoberto Villarroel, INIA

11:25 • Argentina Ing. Marcelo Bosch, Departamento de Comunicaciones del INTA

11:40 • Brazil Dr. Moacir Pedroso Junior, Chefe do Departamento de Tecnologia da Informação da Embrapa

15

Session 2 Regional Agricultural Information Systems in LAC and other regions

Chairman: Vladimir Quintero 11:55 Documentary information: Inter-American

System Federico Sancho, SIDALC

12:10 Sharing information: infoagro.NET Emmanuel Picado, IICA 12:25 INFOTEC in this context Viviana Palmieri, INFOTEC-IICA 12:40 Lunch break 14:00 In other continents: EARD-Infosys+ Marc Bernard, EARD-InfoSys+

Session 3 Towards a Strategy for a Regional Agricultural Information Systems in LAC

Chairman: Enrique Alarcón 14:30 Problems and needs: the vision expressed in

the electronic forum Viviana Palmieri

14:40 Elements for the discussion: tools for the future Vladimir Quintero 14:55 Endorsement of Working group guidelines and

nomination of rapporteurs

15:05 Coffee break 15:25 Working Group Session 1: Identification of end

users and problems in information systems

16:40 Working Group session 2: Identification of solutions and necessary actions

17:55 Meeting of rapporteurs Thursday May 27

8.30 Working groups report (20 minutes each) 9.30 Plenary discussion

10.00 Coffee break 10.15 Working Group Session 3: Action Plan for Latin

American Information System and Interaction with the Global System

11.45 Working group report (10 min each) 12.15 Plenary discussion 12.45 Lunch break 14.00 Drafting committee

Closing Session Chairman: Jorge Ardila

15.00 Plenary discussion and final recommendations 16.30 Closing remarks

16

Appendix 3. List of workshop participants

1. Dr. Moacir Pedroso Junior Chefe do Departamento de Tecnologia da Informação EMBRAPA Teléfono: 00 (55) 61-448-4239 Email: moacir.pedroso@embrapa.br Fax: Brasilia Brasil

2. Ing. Agr. Dagoberto Villarroel

Metodología de Investigación y Transferencia Tecnológica INIA Teléfono: 00 (56) 2-64-233-515 Email: dvillarr@remehue.inia.cl Fax: 00 (56) 2-64-237-746 Osorno (Aeropuerto Cañal Bajo) Chile

3. Vladimir Quintero

Consultor independiente en tecnologías de información Teléfono: (575) 3593002 Email: v.quintero@ieee.org Fax: (575) 3593002 Barranquilla Colombia

4. Samuel Salazar Genovez

Fundación para la Innovación Tecnológica Agropecuaria FIAGRO Teléfono: 00 (503) 267-0069 Email: de@fiagro.org.sv Fax: 00 (503) 267-0069 – Ext: 549 San Salvador El Salvador

5. Ing. Roberto Tejada

Gerente de Comunicaciones FHIA Teléfono: (504) 668-2470 / 2078 Email: rtejada@fhia.org.hn Fax: (504) 668-2313 / 2254 San Pedro Sula Honduras www.fhia.org.hn

6. César Amado Martínez Gerente de Información y Capacitación CEDAF Teléfono: 001 (809) 544-0616 Email: camado@cedaf.org.do Fax: 001 (809) 544-4727 Santo Domingo República Dominicana www.cedaf.org.do www.agora.org.do

7. Lornel Rivas

Div. Sistemas de Información y Comunicación INIA Teléfono: (58243)2404812 Email: lornelr@inia.gov.ve Fax: Caracas Venezuela

8. Marc Bernard

Manager EARD-INFOSYS+ Teléfono: Email: mbe@zadi.de Fax: + 49 (228) 954-8111 Bonn Alemania

9. Ajit Maru

GFAR SECRETARIAT Teléfono: (31) 71-560-2800 Email: amaru_in@yahoo.com Voorschoten The Netherlands

10. Jean Francois Giovanetti

GFAR SECRETARIAT Teléfono: +39.06.57.05.56.98 Email: JeanFrancois.Giovannetti@fao.org Fax: +39.06.57.05.38.98 Roma Italia

11. Fulvia Bonaiuti

GFAR SECRETARIAT Teléfono: (39) 06- 5705-3584 Email: Fulvia.Bonaiuti@fao.org Fax: (39) 06-5705-3898 Roma Italia

17

12. Fabio Rojas Carballo Gerente de la Editorial INBIO Teléfono: (506) 392-7381 Email: frojas@inbio.ac.cr Fax: (506) 240-1475 San José Costa Rica

13. Ing. Marcelo Bosch

Departamento de Comunicaciones INTA Teléfono: 54 1 4339 0604/0605 Email: mbosch@correo.inta.gov.ar Fax: - Buenos Aires Argentina

14. Carlos Mejía Avila

Estadística y Cómputo INIFAP-CIRCE-CEBAJ Teléfono: (52) 461 6115323 ext. 147 Email: mejiac05@prodigy.net.mx Fax: 461-611-5431 Celaya, Guanajuato México

15. Emmanuel Picado

IICA Teléfono: 00 (506) 216-0222 Email: emmanuel.picado@iica.ac.cr Fax: 00 (506) 216-0164 Coronado Costa Rica

16. Federico Sancho

IICA Teléfono: 00 (506) 216-0222 Email: fsancho@iica.ac.cr Fax: 00 (506) 216-0164 Coronado Costa Rica

17. Jorge Ardila Director Tecnología e Innovación IICA Teléfono: 00 (506) 216-0180 Email: jorge.ardila@iica.ac.cr Fax: 00 (506) 216-0221 Coronado Costa Rica18. Enrique Alarcón Especialista en Tecnología e Innovación IICA Teléfono: 00 (506) 216-0180 Email: enrique.alarcon@iica.ac.cr Fax: 00 (506) 216-0221 Coronado Costa Rica

19. Viviana Palmieri

INFOTEC IICA Teléfono: 00 (506) 216-0180 Email: viviana.palmieri@infoagro.net Fax: 00 (506) 216-0221 Coronado Costa Rica

18