In this report the major activities of the Association for 2004/2005 will be presented.
These activities include the Executive Committee meetings (following the 9th General
Conference), Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS), Regional Networks,
Global Post-Harvest Initiative (GPhI), Constitutional Amendments, Publications and
workshops and training courses.

The Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa
(AARINENA) was established in 1985 as an instrument of change for strengthening national and
regional agricultural research capacities in order to reverse the downward trends in agricultural
productivity and the deterioration of the natural resources. AARINENA¿s Mission is to contribute to
the enhancement of agricultural and rural development in member countries through fostering

La communauté internationale de la recherche agronomique pour le développement (RAD) s¿accorde pour la mise en place d¿un système mondial, qui propose de raisonner les activités de tous les acteurs impliqués selon une approche qui distingue plusieurs niveaux sur une échelle qui va du local au mondial. C'est en partant du local et en passant par le niveau régional qu'on construit le niveau mondial .

Objectives and expected outputs of the second inter-regional workshop: Considering the ICM4ARD proposal as a global framework for action, and the main outcomes of the Accra and Bonn Meeting, a second inter-regional consultation would enable the RAIS stakeholders of the Regional Fora to achieve the following objectives: (1) To further discuss on their respective regional Plan of Work and Budget (PoW&B) for 2005 in the area of ICM for ARD and the development of their RAIS; (2) To take stock on existing initiatives involving all principal stakeholders, and to stimulate other initiatives fr

The purpose of this document is to specify the steps that are being taken to
operationalize and implement the recommendations presented in the Final Report of the Rome
Meeting. These steps are being organized in the following categories: a) Further work on the Vision and on the strategies to achieve the Vision. This refers to the development of a ¿Global Knowledge System for ARD¿. b) Strengthening Regional/Sub-Regional Agricultural Information Systems (RAIS), and the National Agricultural Information Systems (NAIS) that constitute them, as one of

In a world characterized by globalization, and by an increasingly science-based and
knowledge-intensive environment, the access to information, and the capacity for converting
information into useful knowledge for different end-users and stakeholders, is becoming of
paramount importance. In the Regional and Sub-Regional Fora on agricultural research that
have taken place in the last two years (1996-1998) the need to promote the development of
Agricultural Information (or Knowledge) Systems has been clearly emphasized, as a way of

As we near the threshold of the 21st century the world is faced with an increasingly
complex challenge of feeding its growing population, while assuring an equitable and
sustainable development. Scientific and technological progress is generating the knowledge
and the tools to make this possible. Nevertheless, the environmental and socio-economic
deterioration that is being confronted in many parts of the world poses an unprecedented
challenge of mobilizing and applying the potential capacity scientific progress has generated,

The general objective of this initiative is to facilitate exchange of information and, consequently, promote collaboration between the regional and sub-regional fora. The specific objectives are: 1) To define more precisely the data/information arising from agricultural research networks and the format in which they are gathered and made accessible to users by different regional and global networks. 2)

A l'issue de la dernière réunion du comité de pilotage du Forum Mondial (Washington, octobre 1998), le secrétaire exécutif du Secrétariat des SNRA et le directeur général du CIRAD ont convenu d'organiser une réunion de réflexion sur la collaboration entre le CIRAD, les SNRA, les Fora régionaux et le Secrétariat des SNRA. Il avait été convenu que cette réflexion porterait sur les cinq lignes du programme d'actions du Forum Mondial.

The objective of the Consortium is to give NARS a suite of tools and standards, based on modern information and communication technologies (ICT), to manage agricultural development information effectively and efficiently.