QAS Service launched in Papua New Guinea
CTA has launched its Question and Answer (QAS) service in Papua New Guinea (PNG), bringing the total number of QAS centres to 32. The launch took place at a workshop in PNG in November 2004, attended by 18 agricultural or rural based organisations and officiated by the Minister of Agriculture Honourable Matthew Siune. PNG s Ministry of Agriculture was appointed as the national QAS coordinating institution. The new service aims to improve the livelihoods of PNG s agricultural and rural communities by giving them better access to information, with the goal of strengthening both food security and income generation. CTA s QAS was first set up in 1985 to help ACP countries improve access to information for agricultural and rural development, but since 1997 the service has been undergoing a decentralisation process, with the development of regional nodes to promote more local networking activities. In the Pacific region, the Institute for Research Extension and Training (IRETA) has been providing a regional QAS service to agricultural stakeholders and IRETA will continue to act as the regional QAS coordinating institution. The creation of a national QAS service in PNG aims to ensure that information products are better tailored to users needs. According to Vivienne Oguya, CTA's QAS coordinator, the establishment of national nodes will continue as part of the Centre's objective of decentralising the service to bring it closer to users, decrease the time lag between the time when questions are made and responses given and making globally available information attuned to local situations by involving local experts. Other goals include increasing the number of information users and cutting servicing costs. National QAS nodes are planned for Tonga and Fiji in 2005. CTA has launched its Question and Answer (QAS) service in Papua New Guinea (PNG), bringing the total number of QAS centres to 32. The launch took place at a workshop in PNG in November 2004, attended by 18 agricultural or rural based organisations and officiated by the Minister of Agriculture Honourable Matthew Siune. PNG s Ministry of Agriculture was appointed as the national QAS coordinating institution. The new service aims to improve the livelihoods of PNG s agricultural and rural communities by giving them better access to information, with the goal of strengthening both food security and income generation. CTA s QAS was first set up in 1985 to help ACP countries improve access to information for agricultural and rural development, but since 1997 the service has been undergoing a decentralisation process, with the development of regional nodes to promote more local networking activities. In the Pacific region, the Institute for Research Extension and Training (IRETA) has been providing a regional QAS service to agricultural stakeholders and IRETA will continue to act as the regional QAS coordinating institution. The creation of a national QAS service in PNG aims to ensure that information products are better tailored to users needs. According to Vivienne Oguya, CTA's QAS coordinator, the establishment of national nodes will continue as part of the Centre's objective of decentralising the service to bring it closer to users, decrease the time lag between the time when questions are made and responses given and making globally available information attuned to local situations by involving local experts. Other goals include increasing the number of information users and cutting servicing costs. National QAS nodes are planned for Tonga and Fiji in 2005.
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2005
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/47981 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99621 |
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