GIL:TCP/YEM/6714 REPUBLIC OF YEMEN STRENGTHENING THE AGRICULTURAL DOCUMENTATION SERVICES OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION Mission Report (3 July - 14 August 1998) by G.F. Andrawes Consultant in agricultural information Rome, September 1998

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

II. MAIN FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

II.1 Management

II.2 Equipment And Supplies

II.3 Information Management.

II.4 Study Tours

II.5 On -the - Job Training

II.6 Work Plan

III. RECOMMENDATIONS

III.1 Management And Organization

III.2 Technical operations and premises

III.3 Follow - Up Actions

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix - 3

I. INTRODUCTION

1- In the framework of project TCP/YEM/6714 (A)" Strengthening the Agricultural Documentation Services ( Phase II )" , the consultant carried out a consultancy mission to Yemen from 3 July to 14 August 1998. The main objectives were to review the progress made since the first phase of the project, and to prepare a follow-up project aiming at the establishment of a national agricultural documentation/information network (exact Terms of Reference are reproduced in Appendix -1).

2- The Consultant arrived in Sana'a on Friday 3.7.1998. On the next day he went to the Agricultural Documentation Centre (ADC) where he met the national counterpart (Director, ADC) and staff, to discuss project progress, scope and objectives of the mission. On Sunday, 5.7. 1998, meetings were arranged with FAO Representative, National Programme Officer and Finance Officer, to review the proposed programme of mission, project progress and planned official meetings.

3- On Monday 6.7. 1998, the consultant drafted the planned programme of work to be carried out during the course of the mission. The programme was revised in close collaboration and consent with FAOR and the national counterpart.

4- The consultant worked under the general guidance of GIL/FAO, and in close collaboration with the office of FAOR in Sana'a .

5- The consultant was accompanied at all times by Mr. Abdel-Khalek Dalal, project coordinator , Director of ADC, Sana'a , who provided invaluable support.

6- The consultant had the benefit of separate formal meetings and discussions with top officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MAI), related academic and research institutions, NGOs, and UN and bilateral project advisers. He was briefed on their efforts as information producers and users, so as to affirm the need to create a national agricultural information network (see List of persons met, in Appendix-3) .

7- During the course of the mission, the consultant had two meetings with Dr. Abdul - Rahman Ba - Matraf , Vice Minister of Agriculture, and Dr. M. Al - Wadhan , Assistant Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration. Mr. Dalal, ADC Director, was also present. The consultant discussed with them the present status, impediments to overcome, and an outline of the follow-up prospects. Emphasis was given on manpower support, user services and products, Internet connection with local and abroad information facilities, in particular with FAO/WAICENT. These two meetings, in the middle and at the end of the mission, have allowed for a most constructive exchange of views on the present situation and accelerating action for pending activities. H.E. the Vice Minster, who discussed in detail the issues raised, gave his directives for the expeditious implementation of the outstanding issues.

8- The remaining project activities, such as purchase of extra equipment and supplies, local training, Internet connection, field visits and extra working hours, were defined and are under the course of action.

9- During the course of the mission the consultant has extended his training and advise on CDS/ISIS and library management to the Women Development Department, AREA, Irrigation Department and FAOR in Yemen.

10- By the end of the mission, on Thursday 13.8.1998, the consultant briefed the national counterparts and FAO Representative in Yemen on his findings and the follow-up actions to be carried out. Emphasis was particularly given to pay more attention to acquire remaining needs, local basic training, Internet connection and WAICENT services, AGRIS/CARIS participation and the sustainability measures by the government. A detailed discussion took place with the FAO Representative on sustainability measures to ensure the project's output products and a higher rate of performance.

11- The consultant wishes to extend his thanks to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation which ensured all possible facilities and measurers to carry out the mission . In particular, thanks are due to H.E Dr. Ba - Martraf, Vice Minister, and ADC staff headed by Mr. Dalal who in collaboration with the consultant made every effort to make the mission successful .

12- This report presents a summary of the mission activities and findings on such items as progress of project, government efforts, equipment and supplies, study tours and training information management and follow-up project proposal. Recommendations on management, technical activities and follow-up actions are also provided. Appendices to indicate the terms of reference, programme of work, list of persons met, LAN layout and process flow are supplied. A Draft follow-up project proposal will be submitted separately .

II. MAIN FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

II.1 Management

13- As a result of the training activities supplied by the project (both locally and abroad), the staff's technical abilities have improved significantly, and it is felt that the staff are presently in a much better position to handle such activities as accessioning, indexing, machine cataloguing and shelving. However, collection development and information services need to be given more attention. Additional local training on computer basics and English language would also be useful.

14- The affiliation of ADC, Sana'a, has remained unchanged, in spite of the advice to attach it to the highest possible administrative authority, or to a body that benefits most of its services and would pay more attention to its sustainability. In its considered new structure, the Ministry intends to adjust the affiliation of the centre so as to ensure adequate administrative, financial and technical support.

15- Under the present information management environment, and the need to move form current, traditional library and archiving management in favor of a range of tasks aimed at building the capacity of ADC to link to national, regional and international information sources, the need to employ a qualified computer administrator, even if on a part time basis, has become urgent.

16- In accordance to the guidance of the consultant, a process flow diagram of ADC activities has been prepared, defining the specific task of every staff member. Model statutes have been supplied to the ADC manager, to aid him draft a formal statutes document, covering ADC mandate, tasks, job descriptions, structure, policies of information collection, processing and dissemination. Emphasis should be given to activate coordination with national information sources and dissemination of information to a broader range of users by making use of Internet and other modern management and technology tools.

II.2 Equipment And Supplies

17- All computer equipment and supplies ordered for the first phase of the project, have been delivered, installed and are operational .

18- Microfiche and photocopier equipment stated in the project document (Phase 1) have been ordered and delivered on site.

- The Nashuatech N 3322 S photocopier has been delivered to ADC, Aden.

- The Agfa LD - 75 D Microfiche reader, is presently operational after having found its missing lens.

- The Canon MP60 Microprinter will only be operational, if the missing FZ02 Zoom lens ( 17 x - 47 x ) is supplied.

19- The proposed distribution of equipment at the three sites, i.e. ADC (Sana'a), AREA (Dhamar) and ADC (Aden), as suggested in the mission report of April 1996, has been made. The new site of ADC, Aden, is still under renovation, however, thus its computer equipment has not yet been delivered, and is kept at ADC, Sana'a, under operation .

20- Within the confines of the project budget, the following needs were identified and relevant procurement procedures initiated:

a) One LAN file Server,

b) One networked PC,

c) Network accessories and installation ,

d) Network card for the shared HP LJ5 printer,

e) Two UPS.

Pro forma invoices for the local purchasing of these items were obtained and sent to FAO HQ for consideration.

21- Lists of identified needed supplies with local cost were prepared and communicated to FAO HQ as well. The supplies include stationeries, toner cartridges, lamps and wiring, Internet connection , four telephone sets for internal use and Arabic reference books.

II.3 Information Management.

22- The stagnant situation that has arisen since 1990 due to the cessation of a previous technical assistance project has been changed. The former library organization has been restored and the physical reorganization of the collection has been adjusted. The main sections consist of textbook collection, Yemeni national collection, international and regional organizations' collection, national maps collection, serials and yearbooks, as well as a small collection of video tapes and CDs.

23- The document collection includes project reports, government gray materials, studies by NGOs, theses, books and maps. The regular official supply of such materials has been initiated through the support of MAI top management. The ADC intends to use mail and field visits to accomplish this mission. Potential partners of the considered agricultural national information network will be approached.

24- Microfiche copies of FAO documents dealing with Yemen have been supplied by the project.

25- The rules, methods, procedures and smooth flow of operations among ADC units have improved. Thus, accession registers are prepared, cardex cards are maintained, a machine cataloguing programme has been initiated, and AGRIS input has been prepared.

26- In the frame of creating additional services of interest to the users community a news clippings database in Arabic has been created by the consultant, with the aim to produce a weekly list of releases from the local press. The first and second weekly releases have been issued.

27- The future programme of information management for decision support and the quest of creating new databases - matters that are highly considered by the users community - have been explored. It is suggested that these types of activity be given a prime consideration during a follow up project.

28- Potential new databases to be considered include Legislation, Agreements/Protocols, Experts, NGOs, etc

29- The consultant was informed by the AREA Librarian that CARIS input has been running fine, and that about 150 records were prepared. Nevertheless, he was unable to submit input due to some database management problems. These were discussed and solved during the Librarian's two days mission in Sana'a.

30- A bulletin of new accessions is planned. Procedures to reproduce the accession bulletin using CDS/ ISIS were demonstrated. Its proposed frequency will be on a monthly basis; both Arabic and Latin materials would be covered.

31- A regular inquiry service is running fine, using the card catalogue. The machine catalogue is under construction and can be used to retrieve newly entered items. Meanwhile a simplified methodology to convert the card catalogue to into a machine-readable one has been launched.

II.4 Study Tours

32- The study tour of Mr. Badr Mohamed Mahmoud to EDICA, Egypt, took place in February 1998 for three weeks. The topics covered included AGRIS/CARIS management, CDS/ISIS software applications, user services, Internet services and microfilm activities. In addition to a stay at EDICA, the study tour included training at the Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL). The training at EDICA dealt with the processing and dissemination of information.

33- The study tour of Mr. Abdul-Khaliq Dalal, Head of ADC and project coordinator, took place for two weeks in June 1998, to FAO HQ in Rome. This study tour included the attendance of the AGRIS / CARIS Technical Consultation, a review of FAO information resources under WAICENT, and discussions on the progress of the project.

II.5 On -the - Job Training

34- On the job training on specific daily technical practices was conducted during almost three weeks. In particular, this training stressed on the following topics :

a) AGRIN / CARIN applications

b) Data entry service

c) Information retrieval services

d) Sorting and printing services

e) Master file services

f) Inverted file services

g) CDS/ISIS English and Arabic supporting services

h) Extraction of records for submission to AGRIS and CARIS

I) CD - ROM services and output products

j) WAICENT

k) Creation of new databases.

l) Library accession , cataloguing , shelving and adjustment.

35- The training was directed to staff of the ADC, Sana'a, the AREA Librarian, and staff of the Rural Women Development Department.

II.6 Work Plan

36- After having identified and screened the state of progress of project activities, the consultant drafted a revised summary and detailed work plan (see Appendix - 6). The work plan has adjusted dates and has defined the general responsibility of every activity and sub-activity. It indicates the state of progress of each activity: whether planned, implemented, delayed or continuing. Careful analysis of the work plan in various stages would precisely indicate the state of each activity with a view to properly maintaining instant response at any diversion.

III. RECOMMENDATIONS

III.1 Management And Organization

1- Considering the principle mandate of ADC to capture national agricultural information, and with the specific aim of enhancing the capacity for the access, exchange and use of agricultural literature to stimulate agricultural sustainable development, in addition to the actual need to make full use of modern information management and technology tools, it is essential that ADC technical and management capacities be strengthened. The ADC should be attached to the highest possible authority to benefit from adequate administrative, financial and moral support, if the desire to move forward is expressed .

2- A strong functional link between the ADC and the MAI Computer Department is advisable with a view to ensure follow-up maintenance of computer equipment, continuous training and the development of such national databases as Legislation, Agreements, Institutions, Experts, etc.

3- It is strongly recommended to urge the staff to intensify input into the national and general library catalogue, to better use the library through the machine catalogue and to encourage the output of such products as new accession bulletin, literature searches, specialized reference listings and indexes.

4- Further local training on computer basics and Internet services is essential to better handle the world-wide information sources.

5- It is advisable that a regular budget be allocated to ADC to cover recurrent operating expenses of such items as annual acquisition of books, journal subscriptions, maintenance of equipment and premises, computer upgrading, office supplies and stationeries, manpower development (training & incentives), promotion materials and output products. The equivalent of US $ 20,000 may initially be required, with a 20% annual increase for the first 5 years, followed by a 10% annual increase.

6- It is reaffirmed that the ADC staff should be strengthened with at least three persons with good English language, library and computer skills. Interested, qualified persons should be given adequate moral and material motivations to avoid staff turnovers.

7- The coordination ties with the AREA information management facilities should regularly be monitored for the benefit of the national users community and the active participation in AGRIS and CARIS under FAO/WAICENT environment.

8- The ADC Director should seek means and procedures to foster contacts with plenary, research, development, academic institutions and NGOs to ensure systematic acquisition of national information, hold agreements for information management on specific domains and promote the use and dissemination of ADC services.

9- The ADC management should seek to establish stronger links with the Ministry's direct authorities, and should regularly report on ADC activities, achievements and services, so that ADC may receive appropriate support and ensure sustainability for further upgrading.

III.2 Technical operations and premises

10- The ADC Director should urge ADC library staff to resume their efforts in reorganizing the collections to reach the former basic order existing before 1990. The most decisive factor for the success of this process is the growing sense of spirit of cooperation and the actual ability to render a good service.

11- It is strongly advisable that the closed access library shelving be changed into one with open access. This would invite users to frequently visit the library, and would revitalize useful utilization of ADC collections and efforts. Such concept coincides well with library stack facilities, entry/exit and most important with the user behavior.

12- Regular communication with users should be maintained in order to provide them with regular services. The News releases, Accession bulletin and Journal Tables of Contents should be issued regularly. The machine catalogue may be used during its development by carrying out literature searches and generating listings of references on striking issues of users interests. Similarly, the AGRIS, CARIS, and WAICENT CD-ROMs should be utilized.

13- The cataloguing of the ADC collection should proceed smoothly, in an organized flow to avoid duplication. This can be achieved by establishing priority principles, by date of publication , type of document , value , etc.

14- A comprehensive programme for the collection of national agricultural literature should be established. Materials published after 1991, may be input into AGRIS; priority should be given to the most recent materials.

15- Collection and processing of research data at AREA, Dhamar should be given more attention to ensure the active participation in CARIS.

III.3 Follow - Up Actions

1- The ADC Director should maintain contact and follow-up with FAO to ensure the supply of necessary funds to carry out the urgently needed activities. He should in particular pay attention to implement the following activities:

- local training of ADS staff on computer basics, Internet services and English language,

- technical activities after working hours, and assisting the Irrigation Dept. and Women Development Dept. in information and library management,

- the supply of remaining equipment and supplies, LAN installation and Internet connection .

2- Emphasis should be given to dedicate a telephone line for the Internet services and to make full use of FAO/WAICENT, AGRIS network and CARIS participation .

3- In view of the inadequate technical ability and absence of motivation and interest of the information services staff, it is advisable, either to transfer their tasks to other interested staff or to augment this activity with a capable person so that output products may frequently be released.

Appendix 1

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultant in Agricultural Information

In the framework of project TCP/YEM/6714 "Strengthening the Agricultural Documentation Services", the consultant shall:

- review the progress made since the first phase of the project;

- provide ad-hoc training in input preparation, database management, and access to and use of information resources made available under WAICENT;

- advise on the preparation of information services and preparation of output products;

- assist in the formulation of a draft proposal for a follow-up project to develop the national agricultural documentation/information network;

- prepare a work plan for the final phase of the project.

Upon completion of the mission the consultant shall submit a typed report in machine readable form, summarizing the mission's activities and findings and making appropriate recommendations.

Qualifications:

- University degree in information sciences or equivalent experience.

- Minimum of 7 years professional experience in the implementation of computerized agricultural documentation/information systems and training in their use.

- Experience in developing countries.

- Working knowledge of English and Arabic.

Appendix 2

Programme of Work (3/7 - 14/8/1998 )

3/7 - Arrival in Sana'a .

4/7 - Formalities of meeting with FAOR and national project counterpart.

- Review progress of project activities in general.

- Defining the outline and scope of the mission .

5/7 - Review the situation of equipment ad supplies and identify other needs

- Review progress of ADC Library technical operations.

- Review AGRIS activities.

6-7/7 -Preparation of the planned programme of work during the course of the mission in consultation with FAOR and the National Counterpart.

8/7 - Review database management activities and advise on adjustments.

- Install new applications related to WAICENT and Internet.

9/7 - Review Delayed project activities and discuss adjustment measures with top officials.

- Administrative measures at FAOR.

11-16/7 - Ad-hoc training on:

* Input preparation .

* Database management .

* Information services.

* Output products.

* Library activities.

18-23/7 - Visit to potential nodes of the national agricultural information network.

- Visits to Internet related centres.

- Preparation of information services.

- Preparation of output products.

25-26/7 - Survey of national agricultural information sources.

- Preparation of a follow-up project proposal for a national agricultural documentation network.

1-6/8 - On-the-job training on:

* WAICENT.

* Agricultural information sources.

* Output products.

- Final preparation of the draft proposal for the follow-up project.

8-9/8 - Advise on technical activities adjustment.

10-11/8 - Adjustment of the work plan for the final phase of the project.

12-13/8 - Preparation of the report.

- Debriefing with national officials.

- Debriefing with FAOR.

14/8 - Departure from Sana'a; arrival in Cairo.

Appendix - 3

LIST OF PERSONS MET

(arranged by date of meeting)

Plus:

FAOR, ADC staff, Computer agents, Microfilm agent, Book selling agents, Stationeries suppliers, Computer training centres.

Appendix 6.2

DETAILED WORK PLAN (REVISED)