Metadata Framework for Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS) Presented by Dr. A.K.Choubey & Dr. Meenakshi Mahajan National Informatics Centre, New Delhi, India At AFITA 2006 Conference, Bangalore

Overview Orientation of the problem Objectives of the study Methodology Agricultural Resources Information System & Agricultural Informatics & Communication Network Applications Review on Metadata standards Suggestions Initiatives Road ahead Benefits

Introduction & Orientation of Problem Large number of Information systems implemented by NIC in collaboration with User Departments Problem of resource discovery and Interoperability Importance of Meta data Standards Govt. focus on e-Gov. applications Effectiveness of e-Government and e-Governance on technical integration between departments & regions Standardization helps in achieving successful and scalable integration with reasonable technical cost and minimum rework Responsibility for preparing standards under National e- Governance Program Agriculture being primary sector and state subject, more challenges involved and need for common control vocabulary, mapping of languages etc.

Areas Identified for Standardization Technical Standards and e-Governance Architecture Metadata and Data Standards for e-Gov. Application Domains Metadata and Data Standards for e-Gov. Application Domains Network and Information Security Standards Localization and Language Technology Standards Quality and Documentation Standards

Main Objective To explore existing Data & Metadata standards to develop framework for e- Governance applications in Agriculture for the country

Specific goals:- To facilitate efficient discovery of information resources in Agriculture sector To ensure interoperability among different e- Governance Applications To facilitate management of resources by data owners

Methodology Develop a conceptual map of different types of information resources used in agriculture Review and Explore existing standards and common resource description practices currently used in the domain of agriculture Identify un-covered data elements for standardization based on the gap analysis

IT Projects in Agriculture AGRISNET AgRIS ( ) DACNET ( ) AGMARKNET ( ) DAIC APHNET ARISNET FERTNET, SEEDNET, ACIN, PPIN, VISTARNET, and others

Agricultural Resources may be defined as total means available to increase agricultural productivity and profitability Integrated information on various resource parameters is the key requirement to solve location specific problems Providing access to information will empower stakeholders to plan better and take appropriate decisions Availability of Data, Information, knowledge, Models with multiple Departments/ Organizations/ Institutions/ Agencies/ Service Providers at multiple locations Sources of Data: Digital maps, Raster Image, Point Vector Data, Vector Data,spatial/temporal data, non-spatial data in structured and unstructured format, Text, digital, and others Diversity in agricultural resources due to natural as well as man-made factors demands for location specific information system to manage optimally Agricultural Resources: Some facts

Objectives of AgRIS Develop a comprehensive database on various parameters related to land use, water, inputs use etc. Development of Decision support Systems on production practices and Systems to support agricultural development planning and strengthening advisory services for farmers Creation of Metadata for building Agricultural Resources Information System Preparation of Guidelines on standardized methodology/ best practices to be used for replication of AgRIS in similar districts of the country Capacity Building through Human Resource Development for associated officials in the districts

Components of Agricultural Resources Information Systems DSS, Metadata and Open GIS Water Resources Data Soil Resources Data Climate Resources Data Capital Resources Land Records Data Environment Data Plant Resources Animal Resources Fisheries Resources Infrastructure Data Socio-economic and Statistical Data Remote Sensing Data Information System Layers

Application continuance ERP Agricultural Resource Planning E-Learning & KM Research, Education & Extension CRM Input services Supply Chain Management E-Governance E-Commerce Marketing Service Providers Producers & Consumers Pre & Post Harvest Agriculture Development Processes CustomerSupplier

AGRISNET Application Integration Agricultural Resource Improvement System Agricultural Input Supply System Agricultural Production Monitoring System Agricultural Produce Management System Agricultural Marketing & Sales Management Knowledge Management System Agro-Advisory & Extension System Farmers Help Desk system Scheme Monitoring System Risk Management SystemEnterprise Resource Management System Support System Planning & Monitoring Agricultural Resource Improvement System Agricultural Input Supply System Agricultural Production Monitoring System Agricultural Produce Management System Agricultural Marketing & Sales Management Knowledge Management System Agro-Advisory & Extension System Farmers Help Desk system Scheme Monitoring System Risk Management SystemEnterprise Resource Management System Support System Planning & Monitoring

W3C Compliant Browser AGRISNET Meta Data & Database Business Rules Display Layer Enterprise Resource & Knowledge Management Agriculture Resources Input Supply Ag. Production Monitoring Marketing & Risk Management Extension, Advisory & Farmers Redressal AGRISNET Applications W3C Compliant Browser Hand Held Devices Direct Access VPN INTERNET Firewall AGRISNET Server AGRISNET SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE Standard Web Services for Data Publishing Enterprise Resource & Knowledge Management Agricultural Production Monitoring Agriculture Resources Input Supply Marketing & Risk Management Extension, Advisory & Farmers Redressal AGRISNET Applications W3C Compliant Browser Firewall AGRISNET Server

Fusion of Technology Framework Remote Sensing Aerial PhotographsGlobal Positioning System Geographic Information System Smart Card Citizen Services Spatial & Non-Spatial Database DSS & Analytical Modeling Thematic maps Cadastral Maps Scanning SOI Topographic Map Data Acquisition Data Storage & Retrieval Information Kiosk Data Authentication

Existing Data & Metadata Standards in Agriculture Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) Agricultural Metadata Element Set (AGMES) AGRIS Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard (METS) Statistical data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) Content Standard for Geo-spatial metadata

Metadata Schema Document like Information Objects: DCMI,AGMES,AGLS Geographic Information: SPATL, GI Metadata (ISO ) Biodiversity & Genetic resources: MCPD, ABCD Statistical data: SDMX Institutions/Persons: CERIF/EuroCRIS Project: WISARD, CERIF/EuroCRIS

Agriculture Domain Databases Application Level Metadata Requirements for various Levels D oc u m e nt at io n

Suggestions Use of International Meta Data standards (DCMI, AGRIS, AGLS and others) for common Data elements at country level Develop data standards for uncovered data elements using national standard classifications and definitions Include hierarchical classifications of Resource Data Elements for example location as state/district/Block/Village Constituting Working Groups on different Agriculture Resources

Metadata Initiatives by NIC Brainstorming Workshops have been conducted Resource Partners from government, research Institutions, IT Industry are being identified and involved in the process Identification of Common data elements under Land Record Systems has been undertaken by a specific group

Roadmap to eGov Metadata & Data Standards Identification of Metadata Elements for Indian context Evaluation of International Metadata Standards Start Controlled Vocabulary XML Schema and XSLT for domain specific services Data Standards Metadata Interoperability Framework Source : DRTC, ISI

Benefits of the Framework to NIC and the Agricultural Community Ensure interoperability for sharing and exchange of information in the Agricultural Community Format for describing and maintaining Information SystemsInformation Systems Format for uniform presentation of meta information on the Portal Portal Format for the AgRIS (Agricultural Resources Information System) to facilitate information exchange and self-reliance of data management by data owners/agencies involved in implementation of AgRIS AgRIS

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