Transcript How to Develop the National Learning Teams Discussion from

Regional Agricultural Information and
Learning Systems
(RAILS)
RAILS Workshop Musanze, Rwanda
February 2015
RAILS Objectives
Advocacy to encourage increased investment in
agricultural information systems by African governments and
institutions;
2. Improve access to information, and the ability of African
stakeholders to contribute to global agricultural knowledge;
3. Facilitate synergies by linking African information conduits
to global providers of agricultural information;
4. To develop an African platform for agricultural information
and learning systems
1.
To achieve these objectives, FARA/RAILS works with the information and communication
team of each of sub-regional research organizations (ASARECA, CORAF, SADC-FANR)
who in turn partners with its member NARS.
RAILS Guiding principles
 Ownership by the NARS stakeholders
 Relevance to the priorities and needs NARS
 Synergies with existing agricultural information systems
 Sustainability not just financially but also in human
resources
 Regular communication among users and facilitators of
information and learning exchange
1. Advocacy for increased investment in
agricultural information systems
Interventions
 Strengthen partnerships in info. sharing among agricultural
research & development (AR&D) institutions
 Develop information and communication management strategies
and policies for AR&D institutions
 Strengthen capacity (human, institutional) in managing and
exchange of information and knowledge
 Build digital, institutional info repositories based on agreed
standards, tools and mechanism
2. Improve access to information, and the ability of
African stakeholders to contribute to global
agricultural knowledge;
Interventions
 strengthen the ICT capacities by procuring a few computers &
accessories to support the work of RAILS and DONATA teams –
(desktops, servers, net books, cameras, internet access)
 Provide short-term training in ICT tools
3. Facilitate synergies by linking African
information conduits to global providers of
agricultural information;
AfricaAdapt
eRAILS
CIARD
FARA, ASARECA,
RAB, etc
4. To develop an African platform for agricultural
information and learning systems
Interventions
 Establish national portals on www.erails.net
 The national portals will contain information on agriculture
4. To develop an African platform for agricultural
information and learning systems
Activities
 Establish mechanisms to support the RAILS activities - Regional,
Sub-regional, national
 Build RAILS learning Teams - Regional, Sub-regional, national
 Acquisition and installation of basic ICT equipment for RAILS &
DONATA teams
 Development of the ERAILS platform
 Establish shared content management system for the national
portals
 Organize training in: eRAILs.net, ICT tools, open access systems
 Establish open access system in at least 7 RAILS supported
countries
Expected RAILS outputs
 Learning teams (LTs)
 Development of the Africa-wide Agricultural information system (AIS)
Portal, www.erails.net
 LTs capacity strengthened to use www.erails.net
 LTs identify priority information to share
 Acquisition of good internet connections and computer facilities to
maintain a dynamic national RAILS network.
 Skills of learning teams enhanced to facilitate information &
knowledge sharing, and learning
 Regular information exchange at the national, sub-regional,
continental levels
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