OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTATION
Based on the results of the electronic forum discussion and on documents prepared by the
different participating institutions, the consultation will:
¿ Review the present status of the Information & Communication Management (ICM) and
ICT situation in all agricultural sub-sectors of the A-P Region, identifying: i) information
requirements; ii) information facilities or services which already exist; iii) existing projects
or proposals aimed at strengthening information systems and/or services.

The discussion sessions focused on the development of the Regional Agricultural Information
System (RAIS), which it was agreed should be undertaken in two phases. It was suggested
that the co-ordination of the system should be the responsibility of AARINENA, but that it
would be managed as a collaborative mechanism to bring together a wide range of
stakeholders across the broad range of subjects that comprise ¿agriculture¿.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTATION. 1) To review the present status of the Information & Communication Management (ICM) and
ICT situation in each WANA sub-region (Maghreb, Mashreq, Nile Valley & Red Sea,
Arabian Peninsula, West Asia), identifying: i) information requirements; ii) information
facilities or services which already exist; iii) existing projects or proposals aimed at
strengthening information systems and/or services. 2)
To identify constraints which could prevent the implementation of an effective, efficient

The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the German Foundation for International
Development (DSE), with the assistance of the Program Facilitation Unit of the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research (PFU/CGIAR), organized on 20 ¿ 21 January 2000, in
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a consultation between the GFAR and the Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC)
countries.
The specific objectives of this consultation were for the CAC countries to:
(a) better understand GFAR and its program of work;