Electronic publishing is rapidly becoming the major alternative for information dissemination throughout the world, via the World-Wide-Web and CD-ROM. It avoids the costs of printing, binding and heavy postage, and makes information available anywhere, at any time. It has particular advantages for people in developing countries who previously had no access to books and libraries.

AGRIPPA can be seen as an extension of FAO-AGRIS, the international information system for the agricultural sciences and technology, and CARIS, the Current Agricultural Research Information System, which identifies projects dealing with information on agriculture. AGRIS and CARIS are intended to assist FAO's member states to create and maintain their own information resources and expertise. Both systems have elaborated exhaustive databases of searchable information on their respective fields of interest. AGRIPPA takes this a stage further by providing for full-text electronic publishing.

AGRIPPA will be divided into Sections, covering the full range of agricultural subjects and interest. These Sections have Editors and Reviewers in the AGRIPPA Network. Editors are responsible for managing the separate 'journals' in their subject areas. Authors are invited to write reviews, scientific articles, short communications (poster papers) and extension materials and submit them to the editors. The editors draw on the network of peer reviewers to assess the quality and accuracy of submitted works, in the same way as a conventional journal, but using electronic interchange to speed the process.

Peer reviewed and edited documents are published in the AGRIPPA system and immediately available to readers.