APAARI has recently published the Proceedings of the Regional Consultation on Collective Actions for Opening Access to Agricultural Information and Knowledge in the Asia-Pacific Region, a meeting co-sponsored and co-organized by GFAR. The proceedings are available here.

 

The proceedings, published by APAARI in partnership with FAO, GFAR, SAARC and the Council for Renewable Natural Resources Research of Bhutan and the Information and Communication Services Department of the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, details actions being taken and required in the Asia-Pacific region, to open access to agricultural information and knowledge.   

 

The volume is the product of a regional consultation, which explored the practical actions required for opening access to agricultural information and knowledge by national organizations. It set out opportunities for their collaboration and partnership, to support each other towards this valuable goal.

Opening access to agricultural information and knowledge and making in available and useful is an essential part of agricultural innovation. Information flows for agricultural for development occur via complex networked chains between different actors, the control of information being part of the power relations in the value chains involved. To help deliver developmental change, these information chains must now become better linked to innovation contributing to value addition and sustainable productivity increases in agriculture.

 

Sensitization of all involved in market chains of agricultural commodities to these information needs is a must, particularly for senior policy makers, as improving information management requires investment and political will. Advocacy is essential, together with developing the required skills, capacities, policies, strategies, tools, techniques and standards. This is where collaboration and partnership become vital to success.

 

One important area is the need for a directory of sources of information.  CIARD, a global movement of over 420 institutions, provides the common platform for development and sharing of necessary tools, techniques, standards, pathways and this global directory of agricultural information is available in the public domain.

 

GFAR and APAARI have also jointly published a collection of Success Stories on ICT and ICM in AR4D in Asia and Pacific Region in the series of actions related to Agricultural Information and Knowledge for All.  These success stories, which narrate how ICT/ICM are harnessed for agricultural innovation and development bring together a range of collective learning from practical experiences. They aim to help inspire, inform and promote similar actions by others engaged in agricultural innovation and development.

 

The success stories cover: Opening access to agricultural research journals in India; Empowering farmers through a Rice Knowledge Management Portal in India; Managing Agrobiodiversity Data and Information in Malaysia through AgroBIS; and The Phillipines K-Agrinet Program for Knowledge Networking for Agricultural Research for Development.

 

The Success Stories are available here.