137. Document STAT/FOOD/12 “Meeting Food Security and Other Development Concerns: Role of the National Agricultural Information Network” was presented by Mr. Romeo S. Recide. It was reported that for many agriculture-dependent economies, the optimum use of resources and attainment of food security were pressing goals, which were best achieved if accurate and relevant information were made available to planners and policy makers at all times. Making relevant information available to users, at anytime, for a broad spectrum of needs, constituted the major underpinning for a National Agricultural Information Network (NAIN).
138. It was reported that the NAIN was an enabling tool that could promote total efficiency in any policy formulation exercise. It facilitated the whole process of accessing the comprehensive database which allowed policy analysts to make a more thorough study and assessment of emerging policy issues, weigh their implications and recommend the best possible option.
139. The Experts were apprised that the contents of the NAIN would include, among others, data on commodity supply, demand, prices, and standards. In addition, directories of producers, traders, and processors would be in the NAIN. Information on research and technology, credit, resource accounting and weather data would also be carried by the Network.
140. The NAIN would be managed and implemented by an Implementing Group consisting of a central data server and an information technology office. The day-to-day operation of the network would be overseen by a command center which would have in its organization a Data Warehousing Group, a Network Management and Support Groups, a Webmaster Group and a Quality Assurance Unit. The Network should be set up with optimum use of available resources and personnel.
141. The NAIN would assist farmers in planning their product mix, in planning how much to produce of a commodity, in acquiring latest technology that could increase productivity and in linking them to profitable markets for their products. In addition, the NAIN would be useful for agricultural development planning, monitoring and evaluation; in supply sourcing of traders and processors; in decision-making of agribusiness investors and in enhancing the welfare of consumers.
142. The Experts noted that although the initial costs of setting up the NAIN would be high, the benefits would far outweigh the costs. These benefits included savings in time and efforts, convenience and timeliness in availment of information. The establishment of a NAIN in a country presented challenges to its agricultural statistical system which was given the responsibility to provide assistance to farmers in the area of information analysis in addition to generation of statistics on food and agriculture. Among these challenges were organizational restructuring to promote efficiency, improving the adequacy of agricultural statistics, developing a comprehensive database and formulating specific standards and applicable formats for data and information.
143. In subsequent discussion, the Experts appreciated the efforts to install an information network at country level to replicate the initiatives of FAO’s WAICENT and FAOSTAT at global level. The Experts noted that WAICENT and FAOSTAT were now widely used and accepted despite initial reservations regarding their installation at FAO. Based on this encouraging development, the Experts recommended that initiatives be made towards installing a NAIN in other member countries in the Region.
144. The Experts also noted that issues on ownership and duplication of data must be resolved before a NAIN could be set up. Regarding content, the Experts recommended that clear information on source and nature of data items in the NAIN be given to users so that they could make their own judgements as to the quality of data in the Network. The Experts recommended further that information in a NAIN should be made available to other countries in the region.
