Question-and-Answer Service
CTA set up a Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) in 1985 to provide information
and documentation to ACP partners. An evaluation of the service in 1997
recommended devolving it to ACP institutions, and so a strategy was devised
to develop regional QAS centres.
After a study of key information sources and services in South Africa,
a pilot project was implemented involving the University of the Orange
Free State (leading institution), the Agricultural Research Council and
Sabinet. Following the success of the project, CTA set up QAS centres
in other ACP regions: Uganda (to cover Eastern Africa), Mauritius (Indian
Ocean countries), the Caribbean and the Pacific. In Central and West Africa,
QAS centres have been set up in Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire,
Ghana and Nigeria. There are plans for a centre in Papua New Guinea (to
cover the Pacific region).
The main objectives of the QAS are to:
- build the capacity of the centres to sustain the service through
various means, including training;
- improve access to agricultural information in a timely and cost-efficient
way;
- promote the use of information to improve food security;
- institutionalise and publicise the service so that it will eventually
be used by at least 80% of the target audience;
- identify the information needs of users on market prices and
on research and development activities;
- identify sources of agricultural and rural development information,
particularly publications;
- improve networking capacity.
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The main activities of the national or regional centres are to:
- identify users' information needs;
- source and collect information;
- conduct searches of the major databases;
- respond to users' requests (by searching, collecting, analysing, interpreting
and validating, and providing verbal or written replies, bibliographic
references and/or full-text documents);
- consult subject-matter specialists when necessary to respond to specific
questions;
- refer users to appropriate information sources;
- provide advice on sources of finance and training opportunities;
- disseminate information to users;
- promote the service through brochures, advertisements, Internet and
word of mouth.
Institutions eligible to use the QAS centres include:
- government organisations: research institutions, extension units,
tertiary education institutions;
- NGOs in the agricultural and rural development sector;
- agricultural production bodies: farmers' groups and organisations,
co-operatives, farm input and machinery suppliers, local authorities;
- trade and commerce bodies: local entrepreneurs, agro-industries, packaging
and storage enterprises, transport agencies, chambers of commerce and
trade.
CTA-supported QAS centres
QAS request form
CONTACT: oguya@cta.int
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