FAO/COAIM-2/3

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Fulfilment of the Recommendations of the First Consultation on Agricultural Information Management

A. Improving Access to Agricultural Information

B.Strengthening Partnership and Alliances

C.Capacity Building in Agriculture and Food Information Management

D. Harmonisation and Standards

III. Other activities furthered by FAO related to the increase in the flow of information and communication with Member Countries and other food and agricultural sector

I. Introduction

1. The First Consultation on Agricultural Information Management (Rome, Italy, June 2000) was an opportunity to discuss policy issues related to management and access to agricultural information and to establish a global framework for the normative work of the World Agricultural Information Centre, WAICENT.

2. Member Countries recognised the key role that information and knowledge play in ensuring food security and sustainable development. Also, the need to place a high priority on improving access to agricultural information; to promote co-ordination between development assistance agencies; to continue developing information management standards in the agricultural sector; and the need for strengthening the institutional capacities in information management in many developing countries were underlined.

3. The purpose of this document is to present a report on the state of the implementation of the recommendations of the First Consultation, as well as those activities developed to address Members´needs on information and knowledge management in line with the Organization´s Corporate Strategies and other activities developed to promote the flow of information and communication on agricultural issues. Consequently, the report covers the period from June 2000 to June 2002.

II. Fulfilment of the Recommendations of the First Consultation on Agricultural Information Management

4. WAICENT has been supporting the Organization in developing several priority activities highlighted by the Consultation as an effort to fight hunger with information. Major activities implemented are related to:

• the promotion of collaboration with other UN agencies and international organisations in developing facilities, services and networks for access to and sharing of information;
• the creation of improved global standards for the exchange of information;
• the strengthening of Member Countries´ capacities to use, store, disseminate and distribute agricultural information useful for decision making process;
• working closely with stakeholders in support of the strengthening of their information management capacities, taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the new generation of ICTs (information and communication technologies).

Under this framework, the following activities have been implemented:

A. Improving Access to Agricultural Information

5. During the Consultation, Member Countries stressed the importance of the fact that access to knowledge and information is critical for sustainable development, and for its components that are relevant to FAO, namely agricultural productivity, food security and sustainable development. Also, the need was underlined for the full implementation of the language policy and for more effective availability of FAO´s experience and information management tools at the local level.

6. It is clear that the advent of new technologies, including the Internet, has brought new opportunities and also new challenges for FAO in this sphere. The Organization is now in a position to provide better management of information and knowledge, to ensure their wide and timely dissemination and also to exploit the potential of the Internet for facilitating partnerships in information management.

7. Improving access to agricultural information is one of the priority areas of Member Countries. Consequently - FAO, through its relevant technical units, including WAICENT, has greatly contributed to the improvement of access to agricultural information. Major achievements include:

• WAICENT, as FAO´s strategic programme is one of the world´s most comprehensive sources of agricultural information, providing access to the accumulated knowledge and expertise of FAO. Hits to the FAO Website have reached 40 million per month. Multilingual FAOINFO CD-ROMS were provided where Internet services were unavailable. Information management tools were improved to collect metadata on Web pages, documents and other material and disseminate information on the Internet as well as to publish dynamically information that changes frequently such as events and calendars (the Electronic Information Management System, EIMS and News and Events Management Systems, NEMS ). Corporate Websites were implemented in all languages. Also, FAO´s WAICENT Internet portal offers a unique and unlimited capacity to disseminate information to its users around the world. The WAICENT Information Finder search tool was improved. Corporate databases were developed and maintained on standard information resources, searchable via thematic categorisation schemes. Work began on the World Information Resource Finder with a prototype capable of accessing distributed data sources on the Web.
• FAO´s Virtual Library. Collaboration with libraries of UN agencies was further developed and formalised into the United Nations System Electronic Information Acquisitions Consortium (UNSEIAC). The Micro-CDs Isis Internet search interfaces to the Library catalogue was improved. Library Internet pages were revised and a dynamic new WebPage designed. The David Lubin Memorial Library provided access to over 1.5 million books, 6,550 printed journal titles and 2,500 electronic full text titles. Desktop access to electronic tools was increased both at HQ and in the Field with over 40 substantive bibliographic, abstract, full text and factual databases now available to the Field offices. A CD containing the full Library catalogue was produced and distributed to FAO Permanent Representatives, Subregional and Regional Offices and AGLINET partners. The Library WebPages were revised to include new books, links to electronic journals and new links to full text resources. Electronic full text subscriptions were increased and wherever possible replaced paper information products. Twelve new special Virtual Library products featuring full text information resources and the offer to conduct training and initiation sessions were announced to FAO staff through the Library List-Server. Full implementation to the field of FAO-wide electronic news services continued.
• AGRIS. The Website of the AGRIS network within the WAICENT portal has improved access especially to grey literature references in developing countries. The AGRIS Website has more than 7,000 users every month. The AGRIS database contains now links to the full text of documents where they are available. Also, the AGRIS Website gives easy access to other important bibliographical databases freely available on the Web.
• The Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture, GIEWS has improved dissemination of its reports from predominantly surface mail and facsimile to electronic means, including e-mail and the Internet. All its reports are now available on GIEWS Website and can be accessed by Member Countries. The GIEWS WebPages received about 2,000 hits per day in 2001, a total of 1.8 million over the entire year from over 75,000 separate sources. GIEWS issues three major reports namely "Food Outlook" (5 issues per year), "Foodcrops and Shortages" (5 issues per year) and "Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa" (3 issues per year). It also issues "Sahel Weather and Crop Situation Report" during the rainy season in the Sahel (6 issues plus a synthesis report following a series of Crop Assessment Missions to the region). In addition to these regular publications, GIEWS issues Special Alerts/Reports which are generally the result of Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions to countries or regions affected by natural and/or man-made disasters. Sixty-four Special Alerts and Reports were issued and 60 missions fielded to countries/regions facing potential food emergencies.
  Furthermore, in order to maintain its diverse information base, GIEWS has developed an integrated information system knows as "GIEWS Workstation" which consists of customised tools that include country cereal balance sheets (CCBS), software for the display and analysis of maps and satellite images and an electronic news service. This is an important system for crop and food supply monitoring. GIEWS has made the software freely available to all National Food Information and Early Warning Systems (NFIEWS), and provided the necessary training.
• The Information Network on Post-harvest Operations, INPhO is an interactive platform to disseminate technical information on post-harvest operations. The INPhO Website is the starting point for any post-production search and offers information systems support to the network of international and national organisations participating in this important programme world-wide. Some activities have been contributing to the improvement of access to agricultural information such as the inclusion of three new chapters in the Post-harvest Compendium of INPhO including the Post-harvest Operations; Potatoes Post-harvest Operations (http://www.lamolina.edu.pe); and Millet Post-harvest Operations (http://www.suanet.ac.tz). These chapters have been done in line with the most relevant operations required for these crops, from the moment of harvesting until they reach the consumers. At present, there are a total of 17 chapters related to Post-harvest Operations in the Compendium. In addition, others are under preparation. Also, for those interested in accessing equipment, tools and materials needed in the post-harvest sector, the INPhO Equipment Database is now available and operational for Asia and Africa.
• The Key Indicators Mapping System, KIMS is a mapping system that displays, store and disseminate different kinds of data and information and links to food insecurity and vulnerability indicators and related data. KIMS is furnished with sample datasets from FAO and other international organisations, global, continental, regional, national and sub-national maps at different levels of aggregation; basic map layers or geographic information; spreadsheets and charts, but also allows users to import new data and maps. The KIMS software has been customised as a tool for national and international FIVIMS partners to help in collecting, presenting, mapping, displaying and disseminating the key indicators of food insecurity and vulnerability. KIMS is not a Geographical Information System (GIS), but rather, relies on GIS systems providing mapping layers and data providers for data content, and has been specifically designed to be a tool that combines GIS maps with related datasets, to allow the dissemination of the information in an easy and straight-forward manner, in stand-alone mode or over the Internet. The advantages of such software are its user-friendliness and accessibility to non GIS specialists, its availability free of charge, its accessibility via Internet, download (www.fivims.net) or CD-ROM and its flexibility to different users´ requirements. Furthermore, KIMS may be modified as requirements change or expand. The KIMS´ software will be included in the WAICENT Information Management Resource Kit, as tool for the management of spatial/statistical data training module.
• The World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources, WIEWS is a world-wide dynamic mechanism to foster information exchange among Member Countries, by gathering and disseminating information on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and an instrument for the periodic assessment of the state of the world's PGRFA. At present, WIEWS interface is available in four languages (Arabic, English, French and Spanish). Also, a new seed module (more than 65,000 varieties) is currently being developed and will be integrated within WIEWS.
• The FAO Statistical Database, FAOSTAT - is an on-line multilingual database currently containing over 1 million time - series records covering international statistics in the areas of production, trade, food balance sheets, fertilisers and pesticides, land use and irrigation, forest products, fishery, population, agricultural machinery, food aid and shipments. FAOSTAT was regularly updated and system enhancements facilitated Internet access with a resulting increase in records downloaded. An updated multilingual CD-ROM version was produced in all official languages. Enhancements to yearbook publishing were completed for the majority of yearbooks. FAOSTAT database is also available in Chinese. Also, the population data (total/rural/urban data), - and the food balance sheet data are now available.
• The Gender and Food Security. FAO has carried out multifaceted activities in the field of access to information technologies and improving the collection, dissemination and use of gender disaggregated data: The Dimitra project, a communication and information project aiming at increasing rural women´s visibility, has set up an online data base of organisations, projects, publications on FAO´s Web site and published newsletters to about 4000 contacts in the world. ICTs are also used for e-forum conferences. The FAO Regional Office in Bangkok organised and expert consultation on distance learning resources for rural women in the year 2000 and formulated a regional strategy on rural women and distance learning. It is currently programming a meeting on Rural Women in Knowledge Society for this year. The FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean created a Website to provide rural women´s NGO and CSO with access to FAO publications, projects and training manuals. In addition it provided also a database on organisations working with rural and indigenous populations.The Gender and Population Division (SDW), the Statistics Division (ESS) and Gender Officers in the FAO Regional Offices have provided direct technical support to national agricultural censuses and surveys on how to integrate gender concerns into censuses and surveys in Benin, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Panama and Senegal. Similar support is currently planned for other national programmes including: Algeria, Dominican Republic, Mauritania, Myanmar and Trinidad and Tobago. SDW and ESS are also currently preparing a "Lessons learned" document on national experiences with incorporating gender considerations into agricultural censuses and surveys. In view of the lack of socio-economic and gender sensitive indicators in the management of natural resources, a study on gender sensitive indicators was jointly undertaken by FAO and IPGRI. Indicators are now in the process of being developed and field tested in Nepal and Egypt.
• The Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System, FIVIMS is a programme promoting systems that assemble, analyse and disseminate accurate and timely information related to food insecurity and vulnerability. FIVIMS is a framework within which a wide range of activities can be carried out, both at the international and national level. Guidelines on the background and principles supporting the establishment of national FIVIMS were published for partner agencies and countries. In addition, the following two case studies were produced: "Food Security Impact of Productivity Improvement on Small Farms" and "Use of Existing Information Systems for FIVIMS-related Work". A handbook on operationalising food security information and early warning systems is available and associated training has been provided in various countries. Extensive work has been carried out related to vulnerable groups profiling, improving information in complex emergencies and on enhancing sustainable livelihoods. This includes efforts to develop a guide for profiling vulnerable groups, incorporating the DFID sustainable livelihood approach (SLA). The ESNA department of FAO prepared, as a contribution to FIVIMS, forty nutrition country profiles. Additional capacity building on information management and use includes a series of user-friendly booklets, "Making FIVIMS Work for you: Tools and Tips". National focal points for FIVIMS have been appointed in over seventy countries, while FIVIMS activities, ranging from awareness raising to international products in support of policy development and implementation, are underway in approximately eighty countries.
• Rural Radio and other media. FAO has been an active partner of local and/or community radio networks spanning 30 years. For the 2 billion men and women living in rural areas of developing countries, radio is still the most popular, the most economic and the most accessible means of communication. Most people are aware of the success that has been achieved by rural radio in Africa communicating on vital subjects such as agriculture and public health; educating people about new practices; allowing the actors in rural development to express themselves in local languages; building social consciousness and mobilising and accelerating change. Recently attention has also turned to new information and communication technologies and to issues presented by the "digital divide" i.e. the huge disparity in accessing technologies which exists between rich and poor countries and increasingly between the urban and rural people within poor countries. FAO has been working to harness the benefits that new information and communication technologies can play in supporting traditional media. FAO activities include: the organisation of a workshop on Farm Radio Broadcasting with specific emphasis on the role of farm radio broadcasting and its convergence with new information and communication technologies; helping to close digital divide in rural areas by connecting community radio stations to the Internet and is training broadcasters to collect and adapt information for improved agriculture and food security; and the production of technical fact sheets on food security issues (agro metrology, post harvest operations, early warning systems, forestry and food security and nutrition) to be used by rural radio broadcasters in order to produce audio scripts and radio programmes.
• Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, JECFA. The online edition of the JECFA Compendium was developed and made available on the Internet. The online compendium is a consolidated and updated edition of all documents related to specifications of food additives and flavouring agents which were evaluated by JECFA from the first to the 53^rd meeting. The compendium is fully searchable applying various search criteria. The compendium is updated on a regular basis.

B.Strengthening Partnership and Alliances

8. During the First Consultation on Agricultural Information Management, the need was recognised for co-ordination of the many initiatives in the field of agricultural information and knowledge exchange based on new technologies and it was recommended that FAO promote the establishment of mechanisms for co-ordination with international organisations, reporting back to Member Countries on such issues, so that roles and responsibilities are clearer, synergies are achieved, and duplication is minimised.

9. FAO clearly understands the importance of building and/or strengthening partnerships and alliances as one mechanism to be more effective and coherent in addressing Member Countries´ needs on agricultural issues. The Organization recognised the need to promote partnerships, both among FAO units - at headquarters and in the decentralised offices - and with governments, UN agencies, international organisations, and private and civil society with a view to secure complementarity and coherent strategies and programmes which would ensure synergy of efforts in achieving the goal of food security and sustainable development.

In order to succeed in the above, the following activities have been developed:

• FAO is bringing about important information-based organisational innovations and partnership with other United Nations organisations, the private sector, and national and international institutions. FAO´s activities cover the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the development and promotion of institutional innovations and capacities, such as the Virtual Extension and Research Communication Network (VERCON); farming communities networking programme (FARMNet). Also, FAO has established a working relationship with the private sector in the development of new ways of improving access to information and knowledge, such as the electronic book.
• In the same way, FAO is participating actively as a member of the High-Level Summit Organising Committee in preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society to be held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2003.
• Furthermore, to effectively implement such activities in a corporate manner, FAO´s Director General decided to establish a WAICENT Committee with the mission to provide policy advise in defining and updating the scope and nature of WAICENT, within the context of the Organization´s Strategy Framework and Medium-Term Plans, to ensure that it continues to meet the evolving needs of internal FAO users, FAO Member Countries and the public at large, including the development of an organisation-wide approach to achieve that vision. The document (FAO/COAIM-2/Inf.4) includes a detailed description of its mission.
• Also, WAICENT/FAO decided to promote the establishment of an Inter-agency Advisory Working Group to promote and/or improve institutional complementarity, synergies and collaboration in capacity building efforts with Member Countries for access, management and dissemination of agricultural information, according to the specific mandates and comparative institutional advantages of participant international organisations. Through this mechanism, WAICENT will promote a more active exchange of information with other networks now in place, which could complement FAO´s efforts to address Member Countries needs on agricultural information but also promote sustainable development and food security. The document (FAO/COAIM-2/Inf.5) includes a detailed description of its objectives, functions and co-operation activities.
• FAO hosts the Secretariat of the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security, a global partnership approach towards tackling rural development challenges at the country level. Established in 1997, as the only country level follow-up mechanism to the 1996 World Food Summit, it brings together key actors for the achievement of the shared goals of "food for all" and rural poverty reduction. It is supported by twenty UN partner organisations at the international level and operates at the national level through 70 thematic groups established in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Near East. Each of these groups comprises a cross-section of interested partners at the country level - representatives from UN organisations, governments, donors, civil society and the private sector. The Network hosts a Web site, updated bi-monthly, which includes latest news, publications, events, and country profiles related to rural development and food security (www.rdfs.net).
• FAO is promoting a cooperation agreement with UN-ICT Task Force in order to implement joint activities to reduce the "Digital Divide".

C.Capacity Building in Agriculture and Food Information Management

10. Member Countries emphasised the importance of giving special attention to the needs of small producers in the access to information. WAICENT, through its Outreach Programme, is strengthening the ability of individuals and communities in Member Countries to improve the efficiency, quality and relevance of information and knowledge exchange among the various stakeholder groups involved in agricultural development and food security, with a focus on the most vulnerable and deprived groups. The major activities developed by the Programme, are:

11. The Information Management Resource Kit. - as the strategic partnership between WAICENT and a range of partners in order to provide users world-wide with the essential skills, knowledge base and tools needed for effective information management in agriculture. Training courses and workshops have been implemented with the main objective of electronic dissemination of publications, including the distribution of a CD-ROM training package, containing the resource materials and background information delivered by trainers/facilitators at regional workshops. A partnership has been established with the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) for the design, development and deployment of the module on the Role of Information in Institutional Development. A firm specialised in distance learning and instructional design was hired to develop the instructional design for the Resource Kit using multimedia based instructional methods for e-learning that can be tailored to a broad of distance learners. The Resource Kit will contain only non-proprietary materials and will be available free of charge. Staff positions in support of the Resource Kit initiative have been established and filled at FAO/WAICENT. The Resource Kit Website is operational in four official languages, offering its users a forum to discuss specific topics, software updates, downloadable versions of modules of the Resource Kit, relevant contact points in other services. Also, experts were identified and consulted for the production and development of materials for the module on the management of documents and images. See FAO/COAIM -2/Tech.1 A strategic partnership has been put in place to develop the Information Management Resource Kit for Latin America and the Caribbean. The workshop held in Turrialba, Costa Rica in October 2001 was organised in co-operation with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE) and WAICENT to facilitate the development of the module for documentation management.

12. The WAICENT Field Programme as a mechanism for collaboration with governments and local communities in providing technical advice and support to strengthen their information management capacities, through the effective use of ICTs (information and communication technologies). By working with partners, the programme has been assisting in the development of tailored systems according to clients´ needs, such as the development of national agricultural information systems and/or promoting the establishment of Regional Consortiums on the use of tools for Agricultural Information Management such as the American Consortium for Training and Tools in Rural Agricultural Information, ACHIRA. The Consortium is currently formed by WAICENT, IICA, REDCAPA and the Universidad Agraria La Molina, UNALM. The Consortium will improve the diffusion of information to farmers and professionals through the development of standards, appropriate educational methods, a training methodology and system to store and manage agricultural information. WAICENT was asked to take a lead role for the implementation of the Consortium activities and a Website has been created as a mechanism to facilitate the exchange of information (http://WAICENT.fao.org/ACHIRA/).Also, the Field Programme is responding to the needs of Member Countries through the design, development, testing and implementation of an SPFS module of the Resource Kit in pilot countries such as Laos, Bangladesh and Indonesia. A tracking database of FIVIMS activities at country level was developed. A strategic programme for information in support of sustainable livelihoods was developed in India, Uganda and Ghana. Field projects funded by external donors were developed in Cuba, Ethiopia and Venezuela. FAO and the United Kingdom Department for International Development are jointly developing a Strategic Programme for Information in Support of Sustainable Livelihoods to improve the impact of FAO´s information and its expertise in information / knowledge systems on the achievement of food security and management of poverty. Three countries have been selected for its implementation: India, Uganda and Ghana. The WAICENT Outreach Programme and the Communication for Development Group are the joint co-ordination units in FAO for the development of this Programme.

13. Training courses and workshops: Regional training events in agricultural information management have been implemented by WAICENT in partnership with several agencies, including REDCAPA, UNALM, IICA, and CATIE among other institutions. The main focus of these workshops has been on electronic dissemination of publications, access to technology and agricultural information management. Regional and national events were held in Costa Rica (Turrialba), Cuba (La Habana), Mexico (Mexico City), Peru (Lima) and Venezuela (Caracas). The Economic and Social Department of FAO in collaboration with the World Bank organised a course on Agricultural Surveys and Censuses data analysis, archiving and dissemination on CD-Rom (documentation and data) in Abidjan in 2000 for 16 French-speaking countries in Africa. This activity was conducted in the broader framework of the FAO/World Bank Initiative for Strengthening Food and Agricultural Statistics in Africa which is being support by several other bilateral and international agencies, including the PARIS21 Consortium. An important component of the country-level programmes being developed under this initiative is related to Food and Agricultural Statistical data storage, easy access and wider dissemination, using new information and communication technologies. The Gender and Population Division of FAO (SDW) has developed SEAGA-based training materials in the production and use of gender - disaggregated data and indicators (GDD) intended for use with national agricultural statisticians and policy analysts, and program planners for non-governmental organisations. The materials were developed and tested in four national workshops in Namibia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as regional workshop for Central and Eastern Europe. SDW has begun to adapt these materials for use in French and Spanish language settings. National GDD training workshops have been reinforced by follow-up activities to re-tabulate existing data sets and have produced sex-disaggregated data bases from annual agricultural surveys in Namibia and Zambia. These data sets have been incorporated into the data warehouse for Southern Africa being compiled by GTOS. Also, the Division conducted the first distance-learning programme on socio - economic and gender analysis in rural development, through Internet in co-ordination with REDCAPA in Latin America and the Caribbean in March - July, 2001 with the participation of 75 professionals from governmental institutions, NGOs and academia from 12 countries of the region.

14. Technical Assistance: WAICENT provided technical assistance to the Governments of Colombia, Mexico and Peru for the development of national strategies on agricultural information management. WAICENT Outreach Programme and the Economic and Social Department are providing assistance to the Government of Ethiopia in establishing a National Agricultural Information System as a mean to improve the national capacity to manage all types of agricultural information (statistical, bibliographical, hypermedia and rural communications) in support of agricultural development and food security policies. Funds have been provided by the Government of Ethiopia, UNDP and FAO´s own Technical Co-operation Programme. Also, WAICENT and ESS are jointly implemented technical activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Lebanon.

15. The first WAICENT Training Laboratory was established in Cuba. This laboratory is equipped with 16 PCs and is intended for use both as a national and regional training facility, and a platform to provide access to WAICENT´s Virtual Library for researchers, students and other interested persons in Cuba. Also, the FAO representation in Cuba signed an agreement with ETECSA, the local company providing telephone and Internet services in Cuba, to facilitate access to thousands of documents in electronic format for the benefit of researchers in Cuba. In exchange, FAO will provide access to specific agricultural information available through WAICENT to CubaSí, the Internet portal developed by ETECSA.

16. WAICENT assisted with the design of a major programme of collaboration between the government of Venezuela and FAO, in relation to the Special Programme for Food Security, with the formulation of a component on the development of a national agricultural information system. The system will shortly be implemented as part of the collaborative programme, with the technical support of FAO and WAICENT in particular. WAICENT is also participating in the FIVIMS team working from the Regional Office in Santiago, focusing in particular on developing information systems capabilities in support of FIVIMS in Central America.

17. In the same context of the Special Programme for Food Security, WAICENT is establishing an information system platform in order to strengthen the capabilities to manage information of three Asian countries: Laos, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The system will include a Toolkit developed in a modular form, a database of technologies developed and tested, and lessons learned through the SPFS will maximise the return of investments in the Programme.

18. WAICENT provided a resource person for a planning workshop held in Honduras on improving communication and information exchange in poor rural communities, focusing partly on the role of modern technologies. The workshop was organised by IFAD.

19. A project was implemented in 1999 in collaboration with the Government of Venezuela to assess the country's food and crop situation and the need for rehabilitation and emergency assistance during the major floods. In addition, an emergency Intranet network was created by WAICENT in order to have immediate access to crucial information, such as damage to crops, anticipated harvest and price data, as well as satellite images of affected areas during natural disaster events. A second phase of the project was planned to make relief operation easier, more precise and more effective with the participation of all relevant government ministries, international agencies and non-governmental organisations.

20. In the field of agrarian reform programmes and land tenure and management, SDW has participated in several initiatives both as information providers on issues related to gender and land tenure, use and management, or in providing support to institutions responsible for agrarian reform programmes to effectively integrate gender considerations in land programmes and projects. Technical assistance was provided to Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Senegal, South Africa, and Uzbekistan.

21. The LINKS project (Gender, Biodiversity and Local Knowledge Systems to Strengthen Agriculture and Rural Development) was developed in Mozambique, Tanzania, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The project works to improve rural people´s food security and promote the sustainable management of agrobiodiversity by strengthening the capacity of institutions to use participatory approaches that recognises men and women farmer's knowledge in their programmes and policies. To achieve this goal, the project initiated and/or supported partner organisations´ activities in three major areas: capacity building, research and documentation, and communication and policy debate.

D. Harmonisation and Standards

22. During the First Consultation on Agricultural Information Management, Member Countries recognised the crucial importance of standardizing information and recommended that FAO assume a leading role as a clearing-house for internationally agreed information management standards in the agricultural sector. Currently new initiatives are underway to create improved standards for the exchange of information between different information providers, such as the use of - Metadata - information about information. Under this framework the following activities have been implemented:

• Establishment of an Agricultural Metadataelement set. In an effort to assume a leading role as a clearing-house for internationally agreed information management standards in the agricultural sector, FAO and OneWorld Europe convened a workshop in Brussels in November, 2000 in which the Agricultural Metadata Standards Initiative was launched. As a follow-up to this workshop, a working group was established in order to review the applicability of Dublin Core Elements and Qualifiers as a means for describing technical and scientific information on agriculture. The working group has published a paper that defines the Metadata Elements and Refinements that are recommended to describe information resources. This "namespace" document is proposed as an international standard. The application of this standard will greatly facilitate the exchange of information between different systems and partners. The Metadataelement set will be encoded using international standards like XML and RDF Schema languages. The first application of the Agricultural Metadataelement set is a new specification of the AGRIS exchange format used and proposed to describe scientific and technical publications. These new specifications will be based on the Dublin Core and AGMes standards. They will facilitate the exchange of metadata sets within the AGRIS network and will make it unnecessary to use specific software to participate in the AGRIS network. See FAO/COAIM -2/Inf.6
• The Agricultural Ontology Service. FAO has developed and maintained in the last 25 years the multilingual thesaurus AGROVOC that contains and encodes knowledge from our subject areas. To assist Member Countries to improve their capacities to manage, to access and to share agricultural information, an initiative was developed to transform AGROVOC into an Agricultural Ontology Service. The system will function as a reference tool that structures and standardise agricultural terminology in multiple languages for use by any number of different systems and to enable sharing of common descriptions, definitions and relations within the agricultural community.( See FAO/COAIM -2/Inf.7) Three workshops were convened to discuss the approach of the possible model of its operation and the establishment of a consortium of partners that maintains semantic standards for information providers in all important areas for food security. At the same time AGROVOC has been revised to include new language, especially in the area of gender mainstreaming and sustainable development. A new AGROVOC Website has been developed that makes it possible to download parts of the thesaurus to use the vocabulary in other Internet applications.

III. Other activities furthered by FAO related to the increase in the flow of information and communication with Member Countries and other food and agricultural sector

23. Telecentres in rural communities. Recent efforts have been made to improve accessibility to ICTs in rural areas through the use of shared public access facilities, which exploit the convergence of technologies to provide cost-effective services in under-serviced and remote locations. Some of these services have grown out of existing public phone centres. The concept has received considerable support from the ITU and other members of the international community, as well as a number of national governments and public telecom operators.

24. Cornell/ITU Handbook for Telecentre Personnel. FAO/SDRE will contribute to produce a handbook and reference guide for community telecentre personnel with particular emphasis on the services provided to rural people under the agricultural and rural development component of telecentres projects. The book will be a joint publication of FAO, ITU, IDRC and Cornell University. Its overall objective is to provide guidelines for management and operation focusing primarily on basic skills and knowledge that will improve the co-ordination, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of a telecentre project. It will include case studies, best practices and other relevant information available from FAO sources. FAO will prepare a comprehensive overview of current and future applications of telecentres services for sustainable rural and agricultural development. The handbook will be prepared for self-instruction by telecentre managers.

25. Local appropriation of information and communication technologies. As a contribution to the work undertaken by the Global Knowledge Partnership, and to the on-going Digital Opportunity Task Force (Dotforce) consultation, FAO prepared a document related to the local appropriation of information and communication technologies. The document includes interesting case study summaries, which highlight the types of projects currently underway in developing countries. Creative ways in which ICTs can be used to achieve development objectives are illustrated by numerous examples, including: a project which allows rural women in Peru to run an on-line bakery shop, a communication network which provides information related to HIV/AIDS to health professionals in Ethiopia, and a price information and analysis service aimed at rural Mongolian herders in order to provide them with the fair-market values of the wares they sell to city markets.

26. World Trade in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Website. A new Website was created to keep FAO Member Countries fully informed on trade negotiations on agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The site contains information on trade-related agreements, upcoming events, FAO related publications and links. The site is available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish (http://www.fao.org/trade).

27. Roles of Agriculture project, ROA. FAO launched a new Website highlighting its Roles of Agriculture project. A three-year project, which began in August 2000, aims to analyse the various impacts of agriculture on the environment, society and culture, beyond its traditionally known contributions to economic growth and food security. The site provides updated information on the project's activities, access to key documents and major research findings. The Website also offers background and contact information as well as useful links. The site is available in English, French and Spanish (http://www.fao.org/es/esa/roa/).

28. Food and Nutrition Assessment. Progress has been made on the estimation of nutrient values of several food groups for inclusion in Food Balance Sheets. Human resource development and capacity building was an important activity targeted at developing countries which resulted in the provision of advanced training in data generation, compilation, dissemination, and use in food consumption surveys. Support has been provided for the publication and updating of a number of national and regional food composition tables and databases and related software products. Regular issues of the Journal of Food Composition and analysis were published.

29. NGOs / CSOs. Non Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations now have a dedicated Website that provides up-to-date information on FAO activities, events and key issues relevant to their work, including a special section on their participation during the World Food Summit: five years later. The Website is available in English, French and Spanish and will soon be available in Arabic (http://www.fao.org/tc/ngo).

30. Others. WAICENT has had an important presence in the media, granting radio, television and press interviews, as well as carrying out promotional and dissemination activities with regard to sustainable agriculture. As part of the World Food Day celebrations (2000), FAO Representations distributed a WAICENT Demonstration CD-ROM. This CD-ROM was a self-running presentation in three languages, which features the WAICENT Information Finder, FAO Document Repository and AGROVOC. Also included was a video and printing materials on WAICENT and its many activities. WAICENT promotional activities have taken place in 27 Member Countries. In 2001, a packet of six CD-ROMs produced by WAICENT with accompanying user guide and sample exercises for demonstration purposes was distributed to FAO Representatives.