by Anton Mangstl, Director Library and Documentation Systems Division, FAO

The effective provision of information on food and agriculture is therefore fundamentally important as it informs both the livelihood strategies of the rural poor themselves, and the policies and strategies of agencies and institutions responsible for reducing rural poverty and food insecurity. In each case, it is only through improved information that individuals and institutions can make informed choices about the opportunities and constraints associated with agricultural development strategies. In this intervention, I will focus on the policy-related aspects of information and communication because I believe that IFAD has a clear role to play as an advocate of policy change in this area.

Improved access to information is necessary but not sufficient alone for improved policy- and decision-making. Decision-making is a political process and stakeholder participation in decision-making processes is crucially important. Enhancing the quality and quantity of information therefore also relies on attention to the flow of information, such as the means of communication, format and content. Information can potentially have a catalytic role but must be reliable and relevant to the needs of the particular user group. Improved information can enable people to better defend their interests and articulate their needs; and it increases their bargaining power and ability to influence decision-making processes which affect them. Transparency is equally important if information is to empower people to make better decisions. Improved communication systems can enable individuals to organise themselves, use information to hold institutions accountable and put pressure on relevant authorities to deal with their problems. However, identifying appropriate type, quality and quantity of information depends on understanding the capacity of decision-makers at different levels to make use of the information provided.

Strategies for information in support of policy-making should focus primarily on enhancing the quality and quantity of information available to institutions responsible for making decisions which affect the poor. It is important to note that information needs at different levels of government decision-making (local, district, national and international) are highly differentiated. However two broad types of information can be usefully distinguished:

• Information on the status of agriculture and poverty as the basis for policy and regulatory decision-making (including population, productivity, poverty and vulnerability etc.);
• Information to support management and implementation of policy interventions (monitoring and evaluation, constraints analysis, micro-macro links, diagnostic feedback etc.).

At the government level information needs refer to both the quantity and quality of information that is required by decision-makers to formulate effective policies. Heeks (1998) prioritises four main types of information required for governance institutions:

• Information to support internal management, including staffing and budgeting accounts;
• Information to support policy and regulatory decision-making, including population, economic, financial and other data;
• Information made publicly available, including laws, statistics and health information;
• Information to support public services such as education, health and transport.

Governments therefore require improved information on the nature, extent and distribution of food insecurity and poverty, but also, crucially, on the complex linkages between policies designed to solve these problems and actual livelihood outcomes. FAO has a number of specialised information systems and tools aimed at policy- and decision-makers, but it is important to consider the ways in which this information is actually used by the target audiences, as well as if and how it translates into targeted policy interventions.

Development agencies have been effective in introducing more consultative approaches into policy-making between government departments, but this could be still further strengthened. It is recommended that agencies such as FAO and IFAD continue to encourage participatory modes of policy formulation that include not only other line ministries outside agriculture and rural development, but also NGOs, the private sector, other UN and also bilateral agencies. There is a particular need to increase the capacity for more rapid flexible responses to the information needs of policy-makers. This is partly a question of improved targeting of government information needs and partly a question of supporting and training governments in information management and analysis for policy-making.

Finally, it is important to note that there is a significant disconnect between on-the-ground efforts to address local information needs and policy-making processes. The local context has a significant impact on whether generally accepted policy reforms are actually adopted and impact at the local level. Effective policies and processes must be grounded in real life experience, in local circumstances and on real user needs. Both ground-level initiatives and policy reform are necessary, but information flow between the two is generally poor and must be improved if the potential developmental impact of each is to be enhanced.