T6: Making research and science reach farmers and end users - The above presentation was presented during the poster session for Market Place of the LWD in 17 December 2013. Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development and Food Security Improvement, By Dr. Magdi Latif, Knowledge Outreach and Capacity Development Division - FAO of the United Nations, , Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Partnership and Knowledge Sharing for Development
Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems
For Rural Development and Food Security Improvement
Magdi Latif
Knowledge Outreach and Capacity Development Division
FAO of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

2. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Outline
• COMPLETED PROJECT
NARIMS – National Agricultural Research Information Management System
VERCON – Virtual Extension and Research Communication Network
RADCON – Rural and Agricultural Development Communication Network
NAIS – NATIONAL Agricultural Information System
MAFNET – Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Information Network
NAKEMS – NATIONAL Agricultural Knowledge Exchange Management System
• ONGOING PROJECT
HORTISUN – Horticulture information Support System
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

3. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Agricultural Research Network Model
What is NARIMS?
NARIMS: National Agriculture Research Information Management
System.
http://www.arc.sci.eg
Sharing Information for Strengthening Research
It is a Web based bi-lingual information system aimed at capturing and
disseminating information about:
Research institutions
Researchers of those institutions
Publications and Research Results issued by those researchers
Projects completed or currently active
National Agriculture and Veterinary Research Plan in Egypt
It has: Backend - Content Management System for data management
Frontend - For data browsing and searching
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

4. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Agricultural Research Network Model
National Agricultural Research Information Management System
Bilingual (Arabic and English) Agricultural Research
information system implemented in Egypt
Achievements:
Strengthened the KIM capacity of the Agricultural Research Centre (ARC) of
the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation,
Development and management of relevant and effective national agricultural
research information system in support of agricultural and rural development
and food security policies.
Networked all ARC agricultural institutions through a national
portal/system
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

5. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

6. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Lessons Learned
Institutional support
Support from senior management is crucial for the success of a cooperative system
such as NARIMS.
Building on existing systems
When developing NARIMS, significant savings in time, effort and money were made
by adopting and/or adapting tools and methodologies developed by FAO.
Locally adapted content and context
NARIMS contains agricultural research information produced in Egypt.
Capacity building
A significant effort has been made to strengthen the capacity of institutions and people
to provide the right content and to access relevant information.
Strengthening partnerships and participation
cooperation and coordination between researchers, whether they are within the same
institute or in different institutes or organizations. The establishment of a Steering
Committee provided an enabling policy environment for the management of NARIMS.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

7. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Rural Agricultural Network Model
RESEARCH
VERCON
Institutional
Linkages
Virtual Extension Research
Communication Network
VERCON is an information and communication
network that:
•supports research/extension interaction and flow of
information, and
•strengthens Linkages between research/extension
for the benefits of farmers.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
EXTENSION
FARMERS

8. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
Workshop on Agricultural Information Strategies – Dubai 10-12 January 2004
COMMUNITIES
Meeting the challenge
with ICTs
 Provision of readily accessible information
 Management of large amounts of data, in real-time
 Two-way, horizontal and vertical communications
1. Problem
2. Query and discussion
3. Solution and new information shared
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

9. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
Workshop on Agricultural Information Strategies – Dubai 10-12 January 2004
COMMUNITIES
The Structure
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

10. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Main functions
News and events
Multimedia Resources Center
Questions and Answers
Directory
Agricultural technology
Links
Forum of discussion
Newsletter
Market information
Weather
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

11. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
Workshop on Agricultural Information Strategies – Dubai 10-12 January 2004
COMMUNITIES
in Egypt
www.vercon.sci.eg
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

12. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Lessons learned
• Relevant and appropriate content
• Good management and coordination
• System relevance and sustainability
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

13. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Rural Agricultural Network Model
Rural and Agricultural Development
Communication Network in Egypt
(RADCON)
Project Aim
To improve the communication between
extension, research, private and public sectors
and institutions involved in rural and
agricultural development for the benefit of
farmers and agrarian businesses at rural and
village level.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

14. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Project Objectives
 A sustainable operational dynamic information and
communication system is to be developed that
responds to the stakeholders requirements including
resource poor communities.
 Fifty resource poor communities are to be identified
and enabled to participate in the RADCON activities
and benefit of its knowledge and information resources
 Innovative media communication program is developed
to increase the benefit of RADCON.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

15. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
RADCON Network Sites
www.radcon.sci.eg
Sites
Start
Planned
Current
Research Institute (RI)
Regional Research Station (RRS)
Specialized Research stations
Central Administration (CA)
Agricultural Directorate (AD)
Extension Centres
Universities
NGO
ICD Units
Villages
2
3
0
2
3
25
0
0
0
0
3
6
16
4
9
73
2
3
0
50
8
8
31
3
19
96
7
3
7
50
Total
35
166
232
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

16. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
www.radcon.sci.eg
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

17. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Lessons Learned
 Government support and collaboration is very important.
 Institutional Capacity building for human and physical resources
Development are essential for the project to succeed and sustain.
 Building trust and respect to the national counterparts is very
important in building partnership with them for the project success.
 The establishment of Info. and Comm. for Development unit (ICD) is a
strong evidence for proving that the institutional Development is
playing an important role for project success and sustainability.
 Close collaborations and cooperation between ICT and ICD team
(Counterparts and Backstopping) is play an important role for project
success. Team work is the real key for project success.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

18. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

19. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

20. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
ONGOING PROJECT
Horticulture Information Support System - [HORTISUN]
Project Objectives
Strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Land Reclamation to establish an effective and efficient
horticulture sector information support network in
support of rural and agricultural development in Egypt.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

21. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
PROJECT OUTPUTS
 Output 1: A stakeholder analysis identified and a
national information dissemination strategy for
horticulture science and technology formulated.
 Output 2: A central horticulture information and
communication unit within ARC established.
 Output 3: A Horticulture Information Support Network
(HORTISUN) and an Arabic version of Hortivar and
related website
 Output 4: The operational agriculture TV satellite channel
strengthened for communication with growers and
horticulture business operators.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

22. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
PROJECT OUTPUTS
 Output 5: Interface with small holder farmers enhanced in
order to debate on their constraints and facilitate interaction
with specialised research units, central laboratories, private
sector stakeholders and stakeholders of the horticulture
industry and donors’ community.
 Output 6: A team of professional staff in the horticulture
sector trained and scaled-up their capacities in modern
information management through HORTISUN and Arabic
HORTIVAR.
 Output 7: A project proposal for further development of
HORTISUN for enhancing its resource mobilization
capabilities to fund its operations.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

23. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
PIPELINE PROJECT
National Agricultural Research Knowledge and Innovation
Network - [NARKIN]
MALR/ARC Challenges
- Coming to grips with the growing importance of the market and agribusiness; Strengthening its position at the frontiers of agricultural science,
and giving focused attention to the technical and social problems of the
many poor rural families;
- Transforming MALR/ARC resource allocation process into competitive
based system, through research consortia to enhance the efficiency of its
human capital and technological capacities that are already in place; and
- Strengthen the role of agricultural research for rural poverty reduction,
income growth and enhanced quality of life in a market oriented context.
 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

24. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
PIPELINE PROJECT
National Agricultural Research Knowledge and Innovation
Network - [NARKIN]
The Proposed Project aims to:
Support MALR and ARC in meeting these challenges and the
development and implementation of innovations in agriculture through
collaboration among farmers, private sector, faculties of agriculture, civil
society and public sector organizations, in response to the new
opportunities and constraints created by the transformation of the sector.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

25. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
PIPELINE PROJECT
National Agricultural Research Knowledge and Innovation
Network - [NARKIN]
Project Outputs
Create an enabling policy and institutional environment and build skills
and culture to maximize benefits from R&D activities in terms of supportive
information and dissemination systems;
Support the transformation of ARC research system into consortium
framework as a competitive business development system and technology
commercialization models;
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

26. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
PIPELINE PROJECT
National Agricultural Research Knowledge and Innovation
Network - [NARKIN]
Project Outputs
Support the establishment of partnerships with faculties of Agriculture
and other relevant research centres, private sector and NGOs to focus on
the production to consumption systems, market-oriented research alliance
and enhance competitiveness of the sector’s production systems to
improve the incomes and well-being of farm families in the disadvantaged
areas of the country and to empower rural local communities; and
Support the generation of innovations processes, information sharing,
capacity building and human resources development.
;
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

27. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

28. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Countries Focal Points are
actively Participating and
providing contribution to
the Regional Thematic
Knowledge Networks
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

29. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Member Countries
Representatives are
contributing to and benefits
of knowledge networks at
national, regional and global
levels.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

30. LAND AND WATER DAYS – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT RURAL
COMMUNITIES
Thank You
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations