1. FAOFAO
FFOOD ANDOOD AND AAGRICULTUREGRICULTURE OORGANIZATIONRGANIZATION
OF THEOF THE UUNITEDNITED NNATIONSATIONS
CENTER OF INFORMATION
AND KNOWLEDGE

2. • Raise levels of nutrition and standards ofRaise levels of nutrition and standards of
livingliving
• Improve agricultural productivityImprove agricultural productivity
• Better the conditionsBetter the conditions
of rural populationsof rural populations
• Contribute to theContribute to the
expansion of theexpansion of the
world’s economyworld’s economy
FAO’s MandateFAO’s Mandate
(founded in 1945--Quebec City)(founded in 1945--Quebec City)

3. FAO What it is, What it doesFAO What it is, What it does
InformationInformation
AdviceAdvice
Neutral forumNeutral forum
DevelopmentDevelopment
AssistanceAssistance
• FAO collects, analyses, interprets andFAO collects, analyses, interprets and
disseminates informationdisseminates information
• FAO provides independent advice onFAO provides independent advice on
agricultural policy and planningagricultural policy and planning
• FAO offers a neutral forum for discussionFAO offers a neutral forum for discussion
and formulation of policy, negotiation ofand formulation of policy, negotiation of
agreements and establishment of standardsagreements and establishment of standards
• FAO provides practical help to developingFAO provides practical help to developing
countries through technical assistancecountries through technical assistance

4.  FAO’s roleFAO’s role
One of the FAO’s major roles is
“ Putting information in
reach”
FAO highlights information as one
of the priority areas in achieving
agricultural development and food
security
How to reach information?
Policy Makers
Farmers
Support
Services
Market
Opportunities
Knowledge
Support Services

5.  Diffusion of InformationDiffusion of Information
The FAO web site contains approximately
50,000 web pages, over 100 databases, and
thousands of documents
http://www.fao.org/

6. PlatformPlatform

7. W A I C E N TW A I C E N T

8.  WAICENTWAICENT (World Agricultural Information Center)
 For enhancement of access to
timely and relevant technical
information by FAO member
nations and the general public
 For encouragement of FAO
Member Nations to utilize
information as a key for
development
Objective
Information is one of priority areas
in achieving agricultural development
and food security
A corporate framework and platform for
agricultural information management
and dissemination
What is WAICENT?
Consolidating more than 40 separate databases
under the umbrella of WAICENT

9. Statistical databasesStatistical databases

10. FAOSTATFAOSTAT
(FAO Statistical Databases)(FAO Statistical Databases)

11.  FAOSTATFAOSTAT (FAO Statistical Databases)
Following areas of
agriculture, fisheries,
forestry and nutrition
Production
Trade
Food Balance Sheets
Producer Prices
Forestry Trade Flow
Land Use and Irrigation
Forest Products
Fishery Products
Population
Codex Alimetarius Food Quality Control
Fertlizers and Pesticides
Agricultural Machinery
Food Aid Shipments
Exports by Destination
Contents
A multilingual online
databases currently
containing more than
1 million time-series
records of international
statistics for more than
210 countries in the
areas of agricultures
What is FAOSTAT?

12. Information Access ToolsInformation Access Tools

13. David Lubin Memorial LibraryDavid Lubin Memorial Library

14.  David Lubin Memorial LibraryDavid Lubin Memorial Library
 Agriculture
 Food and Nutrition
 Rural Development
 Plant Production and Protection
 Animal Production and Health
 Agricultural Machinery
 Agro-industries
 Agro-forestry, Forestry, Fisheries
 Sustainable Development
 Statistics
 Agricultural Economics and
 other related subjects
Contents
The library was established in Rome in
1952. it is considered one of the
world's finest collections in food,
agriculture and international
development
The On-Line site allows you to search its
extensive catalogue and FAO databases, as
well as providing links to both FAO and other
institutional electronic journals and other
sites of interest to FAO users.
What is On-Line Library?
Over one million volumes; the journal collection contains approximately 13,000 titles
of which 1,450 are electronic. The heavily used working collection consists of FAO
documentation, books and serials in FAO subject fields, a comprehensive reference
collection and specialized Branch Library collections in Fisheries and Forestry
Collections

15. Specialized InformationSpecialized Information
SystemSystem

16. GIEWSGIEWS

17.  GIEWSGIEWS(Global Information and Early Warning System)
Food Outlook
Food crops and Shortages
Africa Report
Sahel Report
Special Reports and Alerts
Other
Publications
To keep the world food supply/demand
situation under continuous review, issue
reports on the world food situation
(Food Outlook, Food Crops and
Shortages, etc.), and provide early
warnings of impending food crises
in individual countries.
Mission
 Information Analysis (Crops monitoring/ national level and global level)
 Report publication, Special Reports
 and Alerts, etc)
 Report dissemination (email, Facsimile)
 Communications
 Free access to databases and tools to allow viewers to develop their own
information
 Participation
 Exchange information
 supply up-dated information
Means

18. EMPRESEMPRES

19.  EMPRESEMPRES(Emergency Prevention System )
A special focus programme of FAO to
help countries fight agricultural pests
and diseases which migrate or spread
across borders and cause major Losses
and emergencies, leading to famines
and trade restrictions. Emphasis is on
early warning and early reaction.
Initial priority
1. Animal Diseases
2. Desert Locust
http://www.fao.org/EMPRES/default.htm
What is EMPRES?
 Early Warning, identified as all disease initiatives
 Lead to improved awareness and knowledge
 Forecast further evolution of an outbreak
 Effective implementation
(e.g. Avian influenza, bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
Mission

20. FIVIMSFIVIMS

21.  Information about food insecure and vulnerable people is lacking in many
countries.
 At the International level, FIVIMS implements diverse activities in support of
national information systems, for them to become part of an international
information exchange network.
 At the country level, FIVIMS works with a network of information systems that
gather and analyze relevant national and subnational data that measure food
insecurity and vulnerability.
What is FIVIMS?
 Raise awareness about food security issues;
 Improve the quality of food security related data and analysis;
 Facilitate integration of complementary information;
 Promote better understanding of users' needs and better use of
information;
 Improve access to information through networking and sharing.
Mission
 FIVIMS
(Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems )

22. FAO Country Profiles andFAO Country Profiles and
Mapping Information SystemMapping Information System

23. The system offers decision-makers
around the world a fast and reliable
way to access country-specific
Information without the need to
search individual databases and
systems.
What is this system?
Brings together documents, statistical
data, project details and maps from FAO's
existing specialized country profiles
which are listed below, as well as
information from the Organization's Web
pages and systems and those of its
partners.
Mission
 FAO Country Profiles and MappingFAO Country Profiles and Mapping
Information SystemInformation System
 Aquastat Country Profiles
 Biotechnology Country Profiles
 BIODEC Biotechnologies in Developing Countries
 Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles
 FAO Projects in the country
 FAO Terminology - Names of Countries
 Fisheries Country Profiles
 Forestry Country Profiles
 Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and
Agriculture (GIEWS)
 Information on Fisheries Management in the Country
 Livestock Sector Briefs
 METART ARTEMIS and AGROMET Data and Information
 Nutrition Country Profiles
 Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean - Information
by country
 Water and Food Security Country Profiles
 Compendium of Food and Agriculture Indicators 2004 (PDF)
 Directory of National Agricultural Research Institutions
 EXPORTS - Commodities by Country
 Food Balance Sheet of fish and fisheries products in live weight
and fish contribution to protein supply (PDF)
 IMPORTS - Commodities by Country
 Major Food and Agricultural Commodities and Producers
 Review of water resource statistics by country
Links to other FAO Country Information
Systems and Country Profiles

24. Publication, News, Photos,Publication, News, Photos,
GraphicsGraphics

25. FAO Corporate DocumentFAO Corporate Document
RepositoryRepository
 An electronic library that holds FAO’s huge collection of
publications and meeting documents in full-text, electronic
format.
 Since the initiative started in 1998, over 6 000 documents
have been converted into HTML allowing users to download
valuable agricultural formation from anywhere in the world,
free of charge.
 Several types of search facilities allow users to look for
documents using a combination of search fields such as title,
language, publication year and keywords.

26. FAOFAO Catalogue OnlineCatalogue Online
 The FAO on-line catalogue (FAOBIB) is a multilingual, on-line
catalogue of documents and publications produced by FAO
since 1945, books added to the library collections since 1976,
and serials held in the FAO library.
 Full text links are provided for all documents that are
available in the Corporate Document Repository. Requests for
copies of FAO documents in print or microfiche (pre-1998)
may be addressed to the library

27. FAOFAO Publications CataloguePublications Catalogue
OnlineOnline
 The FAO Sales Catalogue lists a wide selection of FAO
publications and CD-ROMs in English, French and Spanish
that are available to buy over the Internet, by mail, by fax or
through official distributors.
 The interactive catalogue covers a wide spectrum of FAO
subjects including agriculture, genetics, plant production and
protection, animal production and health, forestry, fisheries,
land and water development, statistics, trade, biotechnology
and food and nutrition.

28. FAO News RoomFAO News Room
Providing Information related to media by text, audio, video, etc
Online photo (access to photos related to FAO projects.)
Access to Fact sheets in key subjects

29.  Nonformal rural education:
transferring practical
information & innovation
and opening opportunities.
 Multidisciplinary -
combining educational
methodologies,
communication, and group
techniques
Agriculture Extension: FAO’s viewAgriculture Extension: FAO’s view

30. Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)
What is SPFS?
the SPFS is a core agriculture extension work implemented by FAO
which is a multidisciplinary participatory programme with a strong
emphasis on meeting people’s needs directly by raising farmer’s net
income, generating rural employment, increasing social equity and
promoting gender sensitivity
In 2004, the SPFS has been
implemented in 100 countries,
Including 42 African countries

31. Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)
Control water through small-scale projects
to protect against vagaries of weather
Boost small farmers’ crop, livestock and
aquaculture productivity through
intensification and diversification
Identify and find measures to respond to
socio-economic constraints on production,
marketing and processing of agricultural
products

32. Farmer Field Schools (FFS)Farmer Field Schools (FFS)
 Participatory farmer training through experiential learning
 Focused initially on integrated pest management (IPM)
 Season-long series of weekly meetings where farmers identify
problems and then design, carry out and interpret field experiments.
 Learning combines local knowledge with scientific ecological
approaches.
Farmers of the IPM Farmer Field
School, Sudan, are establishing
tomato nurseries to grow healthy
seedlings.
After field practicals, Farmers are
discussing new cultural practices
demonstrated on the IPM field in
the Farmer Field School in
Sudan.

33. South-South CooperationSouth-South Cooperation
 Advanced developing countries send
field technicians and experts to
specific recipient countries for up to
two or three years, where they work
directly with rural communities and
farmers.
 The number of experts required at
any one time is determined on a
case-by-case basis, assuring critical
mass and site coverage in all
regions of the country.
Worldwide 28 countries are receiving help with over 1000 experts and technicians in the field.
Vietnamese technicians in the fields
with Senegalese farmers

34. Rural Radio/Rural CommunicationRural Radio/Rural Communication
FAO has long supported rural radio initiatives:
• Direct support for setting up/improving stations
• Training rural radio workers
• Supporting networking initiatives
• Research & evaluation of content and impact
Advent of low-cost FM transmitters has made rural
radio more participatory.
A retransmission at Radio St. Louis of
broadcasts on environmental problems
realized in collaboration with the regional
forestry service and an FAO project
A meeting between villagers and the team
from the Communications and Information
Unit of the State Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development

35. Garden-Based Learning Programs (GBL)Garden-Based Learning Programs (GBL)
 GBL provide pupils with environmental education,
ecological literacy, agricultural literacy and agricultural
education.
Main Objectives
1. Giving knowledge and skills for better agricultural productivity
2. Making Science teaching more relevant and more effective
3. Giving environmental education a sustainable practical dimension
4. Influencing pupils’ attitudes, giving positive motivation towards agriculture and rural life
5. Spreading agricultural development at village level
6. Giving girls access to basic agricultural education as the future food producers
7. Improving pupils nutritional status by providing school meals
8. Attracting pupils to school with greater local relevance of subject matter and better
teaching methods

36. The Growing Connection – Hands-on ExtensionThe Growing Connection – Hands-on Extension
 Combines water-efficientCombines water-efficient
vegetable production withvegetable production with
modern communicationsmodern communications
 At schools gardens in Ghana,At schools gardens in Ghana,
Mexico and USAMexico and USA
 Common growing and ITCommon growing and IT
practicespractices
 Rural communities gainRural communities gain
access to local, nat’l & int’laccess to local, nat’l & int’l
sources of information &sources of information &
advice on food productionadvice on food production
 Enhances household levelEnhances household level
food security and income-food security and income-
generationgeneration
Website: http://www.thegrowingconnection.org

37.  ConclusionConclusion
FAO provides information technology toolsFAO provides information technology tools
to internationalize the work of extensionto internationalize the work of extension
agents everywhereagents everywhere
VisitVisit http://www.fao.orghttp://www.fao.org or contact:or contact:
FAO Liaison Office for North AmericaFAO Liaison Office for North America
2175 K Street NW2175 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20437Washington, DC 20437
Phone: 202-653-2400Phone: 202-653-2400