Abstract:
Promotion of sustainable
agricultural practices (SAPs) is
indispensable, either the need of increasing
productivity, or more sustainable
agriculture. A precondition for ensuring and
buttressing the sustainable agriculture and
rural development is the design and
implementation of appropriate and welltargeted
policies that take into account the
interactions between macro-economic,
agricultural and other sectoral policy
concerns at national and regional level. An
Agricultural Knowledge and Information
system for Rural Development (AKIS for
RD), links people and institutions to
promote mutual learning and generate,
share, and utilize agriculture-related
technology, knowledge, and information.
Most AKIS projects support agricultural
research, extension, or education activities,
which are increasingly viewed as
components of an inter-related system. An
AKIS should incorporates current and
potential elements and resources
economically, socially and environmentally
in the context of Sustainable Agricultural
Knowledge and Information System
(SAKIS). Therefore, the goal of this study,
was the investigation of different
agricultural knowledge and information
systems based on comparative concepts,
structures, and functions for extracting and
delineating appropriate framework for
SAKIS. AKIS in Kenya, Hagaz (Eritrea),
Israel and Netherlands has been addressed.
AKIS in Kenya, because of links between
external institutions and organizations, for
both government organizations and NGOs,
were generally weak and poorly coordinated
(Low Networking), as a developing country
has been selected. The AKIS in Hagaz
(Eritrea), because of one study supported by
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and DANIDA, to addressing AKIS, has
been selected. And at last, AKIS in Israel
and Netherlands, because of structural and
functional comparisons, has been selected.
Results indicated that, much of the success of the AKIS in the Netherlands and Israel
stems from the well-functioning interfaces
between the knowledge subsystems, i.e.
(Synergistically sound relationships and
networks among different subsystems and
suitable networking processes). In this
paper, main emphasis is on the networking
and synergy processes as factors affecting
SAKIS effectiveness. Finally, fourteen
recommendations for buttressing current
AKIS toward sustainability, has been
rendered.
