Biotech Updates

Bridging the Information Gap in Agriculture

September 18, 2013

Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) one of the four literature access project of the Research4Life programs celebrates its 10 years anniversary. The project brings key scientific literature on food, agriculture and related fields to students, researchers, and scientists.

According to FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, "Lack of access to knowledge is a major bottleneck for many poor countries to develop their agricultural sector and ensure food security… this is the strength of the AGORA partnership: FAO, publishers and the scientific community have come together to facilitate the access to knowledge to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide." The AGORA made available a huge array of technical knowledge to over 2,500 institutions in 116 least developed FAO member countries.

The project is a public-private partnership among WHO, FAO, UNEP, WIPO, Cornell University, Yale University, the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers, nearly 200 internationally recognized publishers, and several technical partners including Microsoft.

The original news can be viewed at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/196506/icode/