AfricaLink Reports

>> AfricaLink Home >> AfricaLink Reports >> IITA Dec. 1997 Trip Report

TRIP REPORT AfricaLink and IITA December 1997 Jeffrey A. Cochrane, USAID/AfricaLink Advisor December 11, 1997 The AfricaLink Advisor traveled to Cotonou and Ibadan to discuss African agricultural research networking with interested staff of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The intent of the visit was to explore ways IITA might contribute to an improved information management system for the integrated pest management network in particular, but also for all crops research networks. Tuesday December 9, 1997 International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Cotonou Station 08 BP 0932 Tri Postal Cotonou, Benin Tel +229 350553/350577/350600/350601 Fax +229 350556 Email AIita-Benin@cgnet.com A general discussion of IPM networking was held with Matthias Zweigert and Brima James. The IITA Cotonou station is the center for IPM activities in Africa, formally working in some 15 countries, but with informal relationships in perhaps another 10 to 15 countries. Relationships are generally with plant protection offices or with the national agricultural research institutes in each country. Staff of the IITA were shown the AfricaLink Directory listings for IPM, and a copy of the IPM listings was provided on diskette for their reference. Procedures for the maintenance and updating of records in the IPM section of the Directory were also discussed, in particular the role of Jean-Pierre Amirault as coordinator of Directory entries. Internetworking is seen as a great facilitator of the work of the network. However use of the technology entails in some respects a cultural change, according to Dr. Zweigert. Hierarchies become flatter. The newer generation of scientists is perhaps more comfortable with this change. A brief meeting was held with Martin Biaou, the computer coordinator for IITA in Cotonou. He explained the upgrading of the local area network presently underway. A 10base-T network should replace the present AppleTalk network by the end of the calendar year. By the end of 1998, all MacIntosh computers should be replaced by Win95 machines, running on a WindowsNT network with MS Exchange as the email software. The present email system is a standard CGNeT dialup to California using MSMail (or possibly X25 from Cotonou). The Cotonou station has a single account to the Internet for World Wide Web access. A number of staff have the login name and password, and typically browse the Web from home. Staff wishing to browse the Web at the office must do so from their own desktop if they have a modem and direct telephone line. Alternatively, if they have a laptop and modem but lack the direct telephone line, a line is accessible from the communications center. No standing terminal for Web access is presently available. Usage incurs a 53CFA (US$0.10) per minute charge from the PTT. Persons Visited: Matthias E. Zweigert, GTZ, Head, Technology Testing and Transfer Unit Brima James Martin Biaou Thursday December 11, 1997 International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Oyo Road PMB 5320 Ibadan, Nigeria Tel +234 (2) 241-2626 Fax +234 (2) 241-2221 A general review of the technical and reference resources of IITA was conducted with the view toward understanding how IITA might provide services to the various agricultural research networks in West Africa and elsewhere. Discussions then focused on how those services might be delivered in the context of a regional agricultural information system. A copy of the AfricaLink Directory, as well as a copy of the most recent WARDA report, were presented to IITA staff on diskette. Information Networking Resources Meetings were held with staff of the International Cooperation Division, and in particular with the Information Services Program. Enthusiasm was expressed for the use of the Internet in bridging international boundaries, with the observation that the CG Centers in general and IITA in particular can play a pivotal role in fostering multinational ties among scientists. The AfricaLink program was reviewed. Staff offered their collaboration in making the information resources of IITA available via electronic networks. Technically, IITA is not yet positioned in its Ibadan office to participate fully in international networking, though from Cotonou there is sufficient technical infrastructure for IITA to play a key role. In Ibadan as in Cotonou, the local area network is being upgraded with 10base-T lines with fiber backbones. Servers in each of the main facilities are being replaced with hubs to serve the roughly 600 workstations on site. Within the facility’s intranet, data transfer speeds of 10 megabits per second will be standard, with 100 mebabits per second feasible. The intranet at Ibadan presently operates via file access across the network, rather than via a Web server. It is thus not yet Internet ready. However with the html files already in place, it remains only to install Web server software. The intranet already contains in digital form many of the basic informational and instructional materials of the IITA. In discussions with IITA staff working on the IITA Web site, the needs of scientists having only email access to the Internet were considered. These scientists will not presently be able to download materials from the Web site directly. However IITA staff expressed enthusiasm for overcoming this problem. Future discussions with AfricaLink may explore appropriate software tools and procedures for making Web materials more broadly available. Most of the information now on the IITA intranet, apart from a small internal information section, will go online to the public once full access to the Internet is established for the Ibadan campus. A 3.8 meter satellite dish for a VSAT 128 kilobits-per-second connection to the CGNeT Integrated Voice and Data Network (IVDN) is to be acquired, with a total installation cost for all equipment to be about US$140,000. Implementation awaits the resolution of licensing discussions with the Nigerian government. The hope is that the matter will be resolved by July of 1998. In the meantime, IITA/Ibadan relies on a problematic and expensive email system over a slow, noisy telephone connection to Lagos. Total telecommunications charges to the Nigerian telecommunications operator presently run about US$10,000 to US$15,000 per month, which would easily justify the cost of a VSAT satellite link. Agricultural Information Systems Discussions focused on the participation of IITA scientists in regional agricultural information systems in collaboration with AfricaLink (WARDA, ICRAF, SACCAR, and USAID/W), and existing African agricultural research networks. Senior scientists in each research area at IITA would be expected to contribute their expertise to this system, and to make available the information resources of IITA, taking advantage of its library, databases, and Internet access. Dr. Uriyo, the Director of the Collaboration and Networks Program, offered practical examples of how electronic networks now play a central and quite practical role in research. The basic administrative functioning of such networks as SARRNeT, which is funded through the IITA, is now conducted by electronic mail. Dr. Uriyo knew that the members of the SARRNeT network had received assistance for networking, but had not previously been aware of USAID/AfricaLink’s involvement. While this should and will be further discussed with the members of each agricultural research network, the following agricultural information system framework is proposed: The regional research networks will begin to conduct regular business electronically. AfricaLink will continue to facilitate in West Africa with assistance with start-up costs for Internet connectivity and by maintaining support services such as a Directory and Help Desks. Each network will be asked to designate a "networking" liaison to work with AfricaLink on such tasks as maintaining the Directory listings for the network, and identifying particular training or other support needs. Ordinarily this liaison should be someone with access to the World Wide Web, since Directory maintenance must take place via the Web. Regional research network working groups of scientists working on particular topics of mutual interest will also be formed. AfricaLink will support these working groups with assistance for electronic conferencing and other support as identified by the groups themselves. IITA scientists will participate actively in those working groups in the instances where the IITA has relevant expertise, and IITA will facilitate access by the members of the working groups to the information resources of IITA through electronic and other means. For each working group in areas where it has particular expertise, IITA will designate a principal liaison to work with AfricaLink on information management issues. Each working group will be asked to designate a "networking" liaison to work with AfricaLink on such tasks as maintaining the group’s listings in the Directory, and identifying particular training and other support needs. This working group liaison will have duties similar to those of the liaison named by each governing network. This proposed framework will first be presented to WARDA for its comments and amendments, and then to the members of the regional networks for their consideration. Staff at IITA raised concerns about the proposal. In particular, there were concerns expressed about the staff time requirement for the kind of facilitation being proposed. Depending upon the number of requests for information received, a significant amount of labor might be required for processing. Dr. Bassey noted it might be necessary to employ additional staff in the library, perhaps someone with a masters degree, to process requests for information referred to the library by program staff participating in regional networks. The AfricaLink view is drawn from the experience of ICRAF in East Africa. Staff of ICRAF are enthusiastic about the advances in collaboration made possible by electronic networking, and have embraced their role as coordinator of the region's AfricaLink program. The experience is similar in Southern Africa. The expectation is that IITA, as well as WARDA, will find the necessary staff resources to fulfill this function in West Africa, not because it is a condition of a USAID grant, but because the organizations see much broader benefits to themselves in their own work. Thursday December 11, 1997 USAID/Lagos USAID/Lagos had requested a debriefing. Due to a tight schedule in Lagos, they asked that the debriefing be conducted via telephone. This was done with Sandy Ojikutu. Persons Visited: Richard Markham, Integrated Pest Management Program Coordinator, r.markham@cgnet.com Jack Reeves, Head, Information Services Program Lukas Brader, Director General Jack Simmons, Informatics Wale Adekunle, Training Program Rainer Zachmnn, Head of Multimedi and Training Materials Paul Philpot, Audio-Visual Specialist (Webmaster), VSO, p.philpot@cgnet.com Andrew P. Uriyo, Leader, Collaboration and Networks Program, a.uriyo@cgnet.com Michael Bassey, Director, International Collaboration Division Sandy Ojikutu, USAID/Lagos

:  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  What's New : FOIA Requests : Privacy Policy : Email This Page : Plug-ins : FAQs : Help Desk : Contact Us : Site Map Last Updated on: January 23, 2003