A Conceptual Design of National Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Platforms (NPGRKNs) and Regional Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Platform of Near East and North Africa (RPGRN). (Objectives, expected outcomes, Stakeholders, Frontend Components, backend Components, Standards, CIARD and AGORA Initiatives). and An Overview of National Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Platforms (NPGRKNs) and Regional Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Platform of Near East and North Africa (RPGRN). © FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
A Conceptual Design and an Overview on
Genetic Knowledge Network
of Near East and North Africa (NENAPGRN)
Magdi Latif
Regional Knowledge and Information Management Officer
FAO Partnership, Advocacy and Capacity Development Division
FAO/RNE

2. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Outline
1. FAO experience in developing Information and Knowledge
Systems/Networks
2. A Conceptual Design of National and Regional PGRN Platforms
3. An Overview of National and Regional PGRN Platforms

3. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO Experience in Developing Information and Knowledge Systems
UAEAGRICENT – UAE Agricultural and Environmental Centre - Egypt
NARIMS – National Agricultural Research Information Management System - Egypt
VERCON – Virtual Extension and Research Communication Network - Egypt
RADCON – Rural and Agricultural Development Communication Network - Egypt
NAIS – National Agricultural information System - Jordan
MAFNET – Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Network - Oman
NAKEMS – Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Network – Oman
NAIS – National Agricultural information System - Sudan
NAIS – National Agricultural information System - Yemen

4. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO Experience in Developing Regional Thematic Knowledge Networks
NERAKIN – Near East Rural and Agricultural Knowledge and Information Network
VERCON Near East – Regional Virtual Extension Research Communication Network
RABNENA – Regional Agricultural Biotechnology Network of NENA
CRC-EMPRES– Regional Desert Locust – CRC-EMPRES
PLANT PROTECTION – Regional Plant Protection Network of NENA
PLANT PROTECTION – Regional Plant Genetic Resources of NENA
WATER SCARCITY– Regional Water Scarcity Network of NENA
PGRN-NENA – Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network of Near East North Africa

5. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
National Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks - NAIS

6. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Regional Thematic Knowledge Networks

7. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks

8. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
National Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange
Systems/Networks

9. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks

10. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
What is PGRN?
Plant Genetic Knowledge Network of Near
East and North Africa (NENAPGRN) is a
regional platform for strengthening
knowledge sharing and cooperation for
Agricultural Research and Development for
plant genetic target groups and stakeholders
at national and regional levels.

11. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
What is PGRN?
This network is a single access point where the different countries
of the region can share a united vision of the Plant Genetic
production and protection management policies, regulations,
research and innovations. It will operate over THREE main thrusts
to achieve the following:
• Strengthening the linkages among all the stakeholders at
regional level and interfacing with international institutions as
well as donor countries and financial institutions;
• Promote the capacities of national stakeholders for
applications of new technologies to be adopted for use at
national level and induce their capacities for innovations.
• Mechanisms to enhance collaboration among stakeholders at
National, Sub-Regional and Regional levels;

12. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
PGRN Objectives
• To create a regional gateway as a single access point for plant genetic where the
different countries of the region can share a united vision of the agricultural
biotechnology policies, regulations, research and innovations that will support
agricultural development and food security at a country level.
• To facilitate plant genetic knowledge sharing and information exchange for
stakeholders at national and regional levels through the development of a thematic
plant genetic knowledge management system for the collection, management and
dissemination of information/knowledge on advances in plant genetic research and
innovation results that will support strengthening performance of farmers and
agrarian businesses.
• To establish functional mechanism for cooperation and enhancement of
communication and exchange of experiences and good practices on plant genetic
among different countries in the region in support of agricultural development and
food security.

13. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
PGRN expected Outcomes
 Prevent redundancy and duplication,
 Create access to research information, knowledge
and innovations,
 Ensure maximum knowledge sharing among
various agricultural research institutes, programs
and personnel on regional, national and institutional
levels,
 Provide enable environment for good coordination
and Cooperation.

14. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Policy
Development
Education and
training
Access to
Technologies
Genetic
Resources
Exchange
Knowledge and
Information
Sharing

15. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
PGRN Stakeholders
• Policy-makers in agriculture and rural development, especially in
the MOA and NARIs.
• Plant Genetic Department heads and professional technical
officers within the MOA and NARIs.
• Universities and colleges with Plant Genetic-related departments.
• Farmers’ and producers’ organizations.
• Credit and marketing associations and Chambers of Commerce.
• Private sector involved in Plant Genetic .
• Non-Governmental Organizations involved in Plant Genetic for
agricultural development and food security.
• Regional and International Organizations involved in agricultural
development and food security and General Public.

16. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Benefits of Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge System/Network
 Connect people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to
interact, either as frequently or at all.
 Provide a shared context for people to communicate and share
information, stories, and personal experiences in a way that builds
understanding and insight.
 Stimulate learning by serving as a vehicle for authentic
communication, mentoring, coaching, and self-reflection.
 Capture and diffuse existing knowledge to help people improve
their practice by providing a forum to identify solutions to common
problems and a process to collect and evaluate best practices.
 Introduce collaborative processes to groups and organizations as
well as between organizations to encourage the free flow of ideas and
exchange of information.
 Help people organize around purposeful actions that deliver tangible
results.
 Generate new knowledge to help people transform their practice to
accommodate changes in needs and technologies.

17. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Plant Genetic Knowledge Network
• Strengthening the capacity of the Plant Genetic institutes in the
Ministry of Agriculture and Other Stakeholders
• Development and management of relevant and effective Plant
Genetic knowledge management system in support of
agricultural development and food security policies
Achievements:
Networked all Plant Genetic institutions through a regional
gateway Using Web-Based Platform.
Multilingual (Arabic and English) knowledge
management system implemented in PGRN

18. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Egypt
PGRN
Iran
PGRN
Oman
PGRN
Lebanon
PGRN
Jordan
PGRN
NENA
PGRN
The Structure

19. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Share (one-many)
• Store / Retrieve
• Collaborate / Interact
• Decide
• Learn
• Notify
• Support
• Monitor
Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge System
• Definitions
– Problem/Purpose/Benefits
• Guidelines
– Categories
– Functions
– Resources: PGRN Support
Group
• Workplan
– Tools and methodologies
– Pilot network selection
– Training
– Implementation and analysis
– Upscaling
FunctionsDevelopment Process

20. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Egypt
PGRN
Iran
PGRN
Oman
PGRN
Lebanon
PGRN
Jordan
PGRN
NENA
PGRN
The Structure

21. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Main Functions
News and Events
Institutions Directory
Experts Directory
Projects Information
Publications
Innovations
Good Practices and Success Stories
Partners
Questions and Answering
Forum of Discussion
Links

22. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge System Modules
About Institutions Experts Projects Publications
Country Reports Events Online Events News Online News
Media Centre RSS Partners
Focal Points Site Options Expert Profile Emails and
Messages
Good Practices
Links
Success Stories

23. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
PGRN Interfaces Structure
1- Front end Interface:
The front end components provide the information
browsing and retrieval functionalities, and are
available to any site user.
2- Back end Interface:
The backend components provide the data
management functionalities that enable system
administrators to input/update/delete data items
into the PGRN database. These components are
accessible by system administrators only.

24. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

25. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

26. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

27. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

28. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

29. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

30. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
PGRN BACKEND

31. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• AGMES – Agricultural Metadata Element Set
• AGRIS Application Profile
• AGROVOC Arabic/English
• Real Simple Syndicate - RSS
• Open Archives Initiative Compliance
• Online Web services
• Software – MySQL Open Source
• CIARD Manifesto and a common set of
Principles
Information Standards and Tools
for Content Management
www.fao.org/aims
To develop and promote interoperability standards
to facilitate the efficient dissemination of content.
interoperability is connecting
people, data and diverse
systems.

32. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Mobilizing and Providing Access to
Agricultural Information
• AGRIS – Providing agricultural research and development
institutions with an avenue to publish and disseminate
the outputs of their work
• AGORA - Providing access to the world’s scientific
literature in agriculture in peer-reviewed learned
journals
• CIARD – Providing commitment to promote the sharing
of data, information, and knowledge in a global network
of truly public collections of information, based on a
Manifesto and a common set of Principles.

33. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Coherence in Information for Agricultural
Research for Development (CIARD)
Availability: Information is stored in digital formats, with clearly defined copyright,
managed in one or more institutionally-owned, thematic or other repositories, built
and structured according to accepted international standards.
Accessibility: Information is openly accessible for all users, and easily located via the
Internet from outside the institution using tools and services adopted by the international
community.
Applicability: Research planning, implementation and communication are an inclusive
process bringing together all perspectives and knowledge. Research outputs and
messages are adapted for easy access, use and re-use by different stakeholders,
increasing the public benefits derived from the research.
Partners in the CIARD initiative have made a collective commitment
to promote the sharing of data, information, and knowledge in a
global network of truly public collections of information, based on a
Manifesto and a common set of Principles.

34. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Success Factors for Regional Network
1. Commitment for contribution/collaboration at national level;
2. Focus on capacity building at national level;
3. Existence of a regional PGR information strategy;
4. Development of a Secretariat role for regional activities;
5. Focus on community of practice amongst the info specialists;
6. Raising awareness of ICM issues at Manager./political levels;
7. Formation of strategic partnerships amongst the major
stakeholder organizations.

35. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Official launch of the Regional and National PGRN
system/network.
Training of selected national technical staff to contribute to
PGRN at institutional and national Systems.
Securing active commitment from stakeholders to develop
national PGRN system/network.
Development of the national collaborative network based on
partnerships for enhanced knowledge-sharing and learning
at institutional level.
Major Targets/Challenges in 2014/2015

36. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Thank You for your Attention

37. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Save Food Network
Users and their capabilities
with front end components
Access
Browse
Search

38. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Users and their capabilities with
Back-End components
Permissions
Add
Edit
Delete
Publish
Permissions
Add
Edit
Delete
•Institution Admin • Data Entry

39. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Country 2
Institution 3Institution 2Institution 1
Experts Projects publications
N
Inst. Admin
Data Entry Data Entry Data Entry
NAIS Network R
Country 1 Country 3

40. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Save Food Network
Two Level Workflow
DataEntryInst.Admin
Insert a Record
Record
Sent to be
approved
Record Need
Approval
EditDelete
Delete Edit
Approved
Published
Record
Delete Edit
Reject
Workflow - Two Level

41. National Plant Genetic Knowledge Networks for Regional Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

42. Consultation Meeting on the Establishment of National Agricultural Information System of Sudan, 12 June 2014
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Key Components of Systems