Agricultural Information Transfer Systems

The decision making process in agriculture rests squarely on information available to farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers. Information can best be considered as a productive resource, potentially limiting and influencing the efficiency of production. The agricultural information transfer system consists of four independent, interrelated components: development, documentation, dissemination, and diffusion of information. They broadly correspond to generation, organisation, communication, and utilisation of information. These components facilitate interaction, networking, feedback and collaboration by serving each other in a dynamic dual function as both a resource base and customer base. This book presents a holistic view of different components of agricultural information transfer systems with special reference to electronic accessibility to information and globalisation.