E.1: Information
An integrated information resource base, with current, relevant and reliable statistics, information and knowledge made accessible
to all FAO clients
Other Information:
FAO's information clients (its Members, the international community and the public at large) will continue to require timely
and relevant information in support of decision-making and policy development. It is therefore essential to maintain and improve
the coverage, quantity, utility, timeliness and accessibility of the information collected and disseminated. Moreover, the
communications revolution creates an ever more quality-conscious external environment, requiring greater attention to improving
information products and/or preventing their deterioration. The quality of FAO's information is closely correlated to the
capacity of FAO member countries to provide reliable and complete data. There is thus a need to support and/or improve the
capacity of member countries for data collection and analysis. Quality improvement of data will also be sought by relating
cross-sectoral data and information generated from the different disciplines represented in FAO. Normative work on data disaggregated
by gender and other parameters will continue. The Organization will seek to establish a more active exchange of information
with other networks now in place, which can add to FAO's own capacity. Strategy components: The components include: developing
norms, definitions, methodologies and tools for the improved collection and use of data and information in order to make available
the best analytical and decision support tools; this includes introducing a wider range of technological reference frameworks
(e.g. georeferenced spatial information management systems); assessing clients' current and new information requirements (e.g.
farm income and productivity, agricultural population and labour force dynamics, including sex and age composition, land tenure
data and environmental indicators) and adapting information systems in consequence; maintaining and augmenting FAO's basic
data series on food and agriculture, particularly with regard to its quality and its processed outputs (codification, analysis,
synthesis, aggregation, etc.); building capacity at the national level to improve data collection and information and knowledge
management, including assisting clients in making the best use of available sources; promoting the exchange of information
among clients, including opening up and adapting FAO's technical information systems where appropriate to interactive data
exchange; and continuing the development of WAICENT as the key international information service providing the framework for
the harmonization and dissemination of data falling within FAO's mandate. Comparative advantages and partnerships FAO, as
a neutral forum, enables the development of internationally agreed standards and methods to ensure compatibility and excellence
of information. FAO has a network, supported by its Members meeting their statutory obligation to the Organization, which
ensures a reciprocal flow of information between FAO and countries and permits the continuing enhancement of national capacities
to generate useful, reliable information and to manage knowledge. It is this wealth of experience and knowledge, in conjunction
with its multidisciplinary capabilities and technical capacity, which makes FAO an authoritative source of information. Present
external partnerships in the area of data exchange and information sharing include national institutions, IFIs, other UN organizations,
CGIAR institutions, NGOs and regional bodies. FAO's role in the establishment of statistical and data standards, norms and
methodologies will continue to be supportive of the work of the UN Statistics Division. Recent advances in technology allow
multiple partnerships in the maintenance of single databases, as in the Global Plant and Pest Information System and, especially,
in the development and maintenance of distributed databases shared among partners, such as the Global Terrestrial Observing
System. New partnerships will be established to assure effective dissemination of FAO information to clients. Financial support
will be sought from potential donors to improve national capacities to collect and manage information.
Indicator(s):
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