AIMS

The specific components which make up the World Agricultural Information Centre at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), are described in this paper. WAICENT comprises three principal components which are interactive and complementary: FAOSTAT, for the storage and dissemination of statistical information, FAOINFO, which covers hypermedia information, and FAOSIS which covers very specialized information systems. WAICENT has brought a new strategic information approach to the Organization vis-a-vis information production and delivery, along with two fundamental paradigm shifts - paper versus electronic distribution and distribution versus central storage. In this paper particular emphasis is given to the public information initiatives under WAICENT; the specialized information services provided by the various departments and delivered through WAICENT; the full-text document storage and retrieval system study that is part of the initiative; and the Virtual Library Project.