The Second Initiative

This week I want to look at a “sister” program to HINARI call AGORA which is Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture. AGORA was started in 2003 and then was updated in 2006. After I review the basics about AGORA (using the same format as I did with HINARI), I will discuss some access issues that several developing nations encountered with regards to this initiative and what the status of these issues is today.

AGORA- Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (the information below comes from http://www.aginternetwork.org/en/.)

What organizations have Developing Nations Initiatives?
AGORA was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) along with various publishing companies such as Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins and Oxford University Press. Currently, approximately forty publishers participate.

Specifically, what type of access is being offered?
It provides access to 1,278 journals. The digital resources are offered to researchers, policy-makers, educators, students, technical workers and extension specialists.

What countries is it being offered to?
The list is available at http://www.aginternetwork.org/en/about_agora/. The list is divided into two bands. Band one countries get free access and band two countries pay $1000 per year. Examples from band one include Afghanistan, Kenya, and Vietnam. Examples from band two include Cuba, Iraq, and Peru. (Same as HINARI)

What criteria are used to determine which countries are eligible?
AGORA uses 2005 data from the World Bank.

Is access free or discounted? What is the discount?
If a country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is below $1000, then that country is able to have free access. If a country’s GNI per capita is between $1000 and $3000, then that country pays $1000 per year. Even if your country is not on the list of developing nations, there are still many journals that are available for free.

How is access provided?
Institutions must fill out a registration form and then they will receive a license agreement which must be signed. The institution is then assigned a password.

Can the information be accessed in other languages?
The majority of the information is in English although AGORA is working to add other languages.

What are the goals of these types of initiatives?
AGORA was developed to enhance the scholarship of students, faculty and researchers in agriculture and life sciences in the developing world.

Do developing nations possess the necessary technology to access these digital resources? (i.e. computers, internet connection)
Institutions must have a computer with internet access that is considered high-speed (56k baud rate or higher).

Is there a measurement that shows how much developing nations access these digital resources?
AGORA has institutions registered in 107 countries.

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In 2003, when AGORA was first developed, the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank, commissioned a study to determine whether institutions in developing nations were equipped to access online resources. Specifically, they focused on the African nations of Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. They spoke to various individuals affiliated with institutions that would be using AGORA including librarians, chancellors, researchers, professors, and students. They were mainly interested in learning more about the technology infrastructure. The results showed that most institutions were connecting to the Internet by using dial-up connections, which would be too slow to download many types of files (such as PDF’s) or search online databases. The study also showed that the situation was slowing improving, but technology departments were the first ones receiving updated infrastructure. While this was perhaps rightly so, it meant that the infrastructure in libraries was lagging behind. The study noted that it could take years to put a reliable infrastructure in place for these libraries. In order to accomplish this task, money and skilled human resources were needed.

A follow-up article published in 2006, showed that while there have been improvements in technology infrastructure, developing nations that are taking advantage of these free online resources are still encountering various challenges. Since 2003, the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) has scheduled AGORA training workshops in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The workshops are attended by library and information professionals, researchers, and policymakers. The goal of the workshops is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of research as it relates to agriculture, and therefore, to improve the lives of these countries’ citizens. ITOCA also hopes that the workshop participants will take what they have learned and pass it on to others.

While this certainly represents a step in the right direction, several challenges remain. These include a low level of technological skill, inadequate facilities, a lack of institutional support, and an absence of the skills needed to manage digital information resources. In developing nations where the priority is, often times, simply feeding the population, digital resource initiatives tend to receive less focus and attention.

Next week, I will be looking at another “sister” program to HINARI and AGORA, called OARE (Online Access to Research in the Environment).

REFERENCES

AGORA: Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture. 2009. Food and Agriculture Organization. 25 June 2009. http://www.aginternetwork.org/en/index.jsp.

Chisenga, Justin et al. “FAO’s Capacity-Building Initiatives in Accessing, Documenting, Communicating and Managing Agricultural Information.” Quarterly Bulletin of the International Association of Agricultural Info. V51: 3 / 4 2006, 170-6.

Hesse, Edith. “Assessment of the Readiness of Libraries in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia to Access Online Scientific Information Resources (particularly AGORA).” Quarterly Bulletin of the International Association of Agricultural Info. V48: 3 / 4 2003, 178-189.

ITOCA: Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa. 2009. ITOCA: Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa. 25 June 2009. http://www.itoca.org/.