. . . . From The Director General

dvances in technology are changing the world fast. People many time zones away are as near as our telephone, or our computer. News from around the world is delivered to our homes, live, as if the events were taking place next door. I believe that these same technologies that are bringing the world closer together can improve the lives of the millions of people who still endure poverty and hunger.
        This issue of Caravan focuses on the use that ICARDA is making of information technologies to improve the lives of people in the world's dry areas. ICARDA uses different information technology tools such as expert systems, geographic information systems, information management, and WorldWide Web-based systems.
        The expert systems technology is one of the successful applications of artificial intelligence. It is used to transfer the expertise of highly qualified experts in different domains to practitioners in those domains. Expert Systems (ES) have been developed in different fields such as aerospace, medicine, agriculture, and other disciplines. ICARDA has been collaborating with the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Expert Systems (CLAES), Egypt for more than five years in developing expert systems for the production of wheat, faba bean, and cucumber. ICARDA and CLAES have been jointly conducting an annual regional short-term training course on Utilization of Expert Systems in Research and Production for the last five years. The aim of this course is to enhance human resources in ES technology in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region.
        The Geographic Information System (GIS) is another exciting technology that, when combined with global positioning systems (GPS) and remote sensing, can give communities a vivid picture-maps-of their physical and social environment. With this information, communities can plan for a sustainable future, better informed about the production potential and limitations of their natural resources.
        The most prominent feature of GIS is its graphical representations of spatial data, but for researchers it is the ability of GIS to reveal the relationships hidden within diverse, seemingly unrelated data.

        To increase the efficiency of its collaborative research with the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), ICARDA places major emphasis on the use of new tools for sharing information. The Center cooperates with other players in information technology in developing appropriate databases. The Regional Information Network for West Asia and North Africa, an initiative that has been

jointly undertaken by ICARDA, AARINENA (Association of Agricultural Research Institutes in the Near East and North Africa), FAO, GFAR (Global Forum for Agricultural Research) and CLAES is a good example of how developments in information technology are benefiting our regional partners.
        Of course, the rapid spread of the Internet is a tremendous advance. It is allowing us to communicate much more quickly and efficiently with our cooperators. It helps avoid duplication of effort and thereby increases the relevance and impact of research. The Center's Communication, Documentation and Information Services Unit is making increasing use of computer networks, in pace with the rising availability of the Internet in CWANA. In time, all key information that ICARDA produces will be readily available "over the Net."
        ICARDA promotes the use of information technology in NARS through a series of training courses, and consultancies. The Center recognizes that if NARS and ICARDA scientists have to work as equal partners, they must be able to  keep pace with the advances in technology. The training courses are carefully designed based on needs of individual NARS, and have helped in producing a cadre of colleagues with advanced skills in information and communication technologies in national programs.