The one resource that can liberate people and eradicate poverty is information. Information is knowledge. Knowledge is empowerment which means freedom. In rural communities, where poverty and illiteracy are some of the highest on the planet, and access to knowledge is inherently limited, the dissemination of information is fundamental, if not vital. First of all, within these communities the results of agricultural development are the source of life of the inhabitants of the area. Therefore, providing people with relevant agricultural information leads to an obvious, yet enormous, added value. It is not a matter that only concerns the lives of local rural communities but due to today's global interdependence, the "quality" of harvests effects markets and specifically food quality worldwide. Information in this specific context is fundamental both from a «producer and his role in the global framework» perspective and from a consumer's perspective in terms of information when choosing or simply when «consuming». Thirdly, as a longer term objective, agricultural information is fundamental in the battle of poverty eradication. As it brings value to production, development and harvest, it leads to the empowerment of individuals that therefore have the freedom and resources to strengthen their role as citizens within decision making and democratization processes. Summarizing, it becomes of great value, and concrete need, to include the dissemination of agricultural information both within development programmes and within policy and capacity building processs......Alberto Nardelli, Italy (25 years old)
En el mundo de la cooperación, la clave se encuentra precisamente en la diffusion de la información agraria y en su contribución al proceso de toma de decisiones. La manera de gestionar la información existente y el re-direccionamiento de ésta a través de los medios adecuados, se hace esencial para una correcta gestión de los recursos, para fomentar la colaboración y coordinación entre países, evitando la duplicación de esfuerzos y fortaleciendo el funcionamiento de sus propias instituciones......Lorena Martinez, Spain (30 years old)
Build an information collection, analysis and release system, mainly involves information analysis, publishing and information service to the general public. However, the main problems on the dissemination of information, are the low level of application of information technologies, the insufficient information content accordingly with user's needs, and difficulties in information sharing, particularly in developing countries........Philomena Wilson, USA (25 years old)
Disseminating information in the agricultural sector is of crucial importance for decision making process not only in developing but also in developed countries. Lack of information or information asymmetries may heavily hinder market economy. Such information needs to be accessible not only to policy makers but also to other key stakeholders in the agricultural sector including farmers and livestock keepers. Disseminating agricultural information is one of the key elements in smoothing transaction costs in the agricultural market......Ana Riviere-Cinnamond, Spain (27 years old)
Gracias a la rápida evolución de las tecnologías de información y comunicaciones, hoy es posible conocer más ampliamente las necesidades de los diferentes públicos y, a su vez, otorgar acceso abierto a la información disponible. Sin embargo, esto se concentra en quienes hoy disponen de acceso a Internet y son capaces de utilizar la información para sus propios fines........Enrique Ramírez, Costa Rica (38 years old)
Avec la multiplicité des structures produisant de l'information, l'absence de nomenclatura, la faiblesse du systéme de gestion et d'archivage des données, le manque de visibilité des intervenants rend difficile l'accessibilité aux informations.....Sandrine Hébert, France (28 years old)
We are very pleased to see the early achievements of COAIM and look forward to its future development, no doubt that COAIM will play a key role in ensuring food security and sustainable development. Areas that interest us are capacity building efforts, management standards and the increase for the dissemination of agricultural information, so we hope COAIM will also help to provide greater exposure to fisheries related topics.....Claudia Riva and José Aguilar Italy and Mexico (respectively)
La información solo es de utilidad cuando responde a las necesidades de los usuarios y se tiene acceso a ella. Antes de la aparición de Internet, el problema radicaba en el acceso a la información, hoy día el problema se centra en la cantidad de la información y muchas veces en la fuente que la genera. A través de Internet, nos hemos convertido en usuarios y generadores de información, tener acceso inmediato a fuentes de información de diversas partes del mundo, lo cual ha generado una verdadera revolución de los medios tradicionales de comunicación. Pero todavía hoy día, en muchas partes de mi país solo una minoría privilegiada tiene acceso a la información, por lo que debemos trabajar en promover un acceso más equitativo de la misma, en el momento que se logre esta empresa, realmente estaremos contribuyendo al desarrollo..........Salvador López, Nicaragua (35 years old)
