One of the main issues for agricultural development in the Asia-Pacific region is the lack of accessibility of useful and relevant agricultural information. Main actors in the region need to come together and come to collective decisions to open and share agricultural knowledge. This is now going to happen mid December in Bhutan at the Regional Consultation on Collective Actions for Opening Access to Agricultural Information and Knowledge in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Objectives

• To identify collective actions on national, regional and international level to open and share agricultural knowledge.
• To suggest and share good practices to guide national organizations to generate and open access to agricultural information for smallholder resource-poor farmers and producers.
• To strengthen institutional commitment, partnerships and networks in support of opening access to agricultural information.

Organizers

This expert consultation is jointly organized by the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Agriculture Center and the Council for Renewable Natural Resources Research of Bhutan (CoRRB), with the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

2014: International Year of Family Farming

The United Nations announced that the year 2014 will be the International Year of Family Farming, highlighting the role of  smallholder farmers in contributing to food security. The sustainability of family farming depends on its ability to respond to changing contexts. The effectiviness of these responds is largely influenced by the  accessibility of agricultural information and its effective use.



Activities by APAARI along with FAO, GFAR, SAARC and many other partners at national and regional levels have led the establishment of Asia Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS) and the Coherence in Agricultural Information in Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD). However, more needs to be done to promote openness in sharing agricultural information and knowledge in the the Asia-Pacific region.