The challenge of HIV/AIDS: Where does agroforestry fit in? - World ...

Keywords:E-learning, agricultural education,Africa, Southeast AsiaChapter 19Can e-learning support agricultural development indeveloping countries?Albert Dean Atkinson, International Rice Research Institute; Jan Beniest, World Agroforestry Centre and SheilaRao, World Agroforestry Centre and The Commonwealth of LearningAbstractAdvances in information and communication technology are opening up new opportunities for distancelearning. Various centres within the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research(CGIAR) have been developing electronic learning materials for use on the Internet, such as on-lineshort courses, CD-ROMs, on-line communities and collaborative sites. The centres have also developedvirtual university courses for longer-term training. The CGIAR centres collaborate with nationaland regional partners in developing and using these e-learning materials. The centres are also creatinga joint Learning Resources Centre. This will gather and coordinate learning materials based on ongoingresearch from contributing CGIAR centres, especially material with cross-disciplinary applicability,such as statistical analyses or scientific writing. These materials will be adapted for a broad rangeof applications, and will be presented in different media and levels of interaction, depending on localcircumstances and the context of learning goals.IntroductionAgricultural research and development (R&D) institutionsin developing countries often have problemskeeping up-to-date with advances in internationalscience and technology. Members of the ConsultativeGroup on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)are working with many national institutions to helpthem improve in this area. For countries with few scientistsand weak institutions, the CGIAR may help directlyby organizing training programmes or providingmaterials and resources; while in countries with manycompetent scientists and well-functioning institutions,they adopt a collaborative and partnership approachthrough networking and sharing knowledge.The training and education materials developed by theCGIAR are in great demand and are reaching audiencesfar beyond the participants of in-house trainingevents. The materials can be translated and adapted tomeet the needs of specific audiences in regional settings,but they need to be produced in partnership withnational institutions to ensure ownership.Face-to-face-based learning tends to be costly, particularlybecause of travel and accommodation expenses.Advances in information and communication technology(ICT) mean widely scattered audiences can now findout about recent developments in agricultural R&D andnatural resource management. Although the innovations