Linked Data for Fighting Global Hunger:Experiences in setting standards for Agricultural Information Management

Abstract

FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, has the global goal to defeat hunger and eliminate poverty. One of its core functions is the generation, dissemination and application of information and knowledge. Since 2000, the Agricultural InformationManagement Standards (AIMS) activity in FAO’s Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building Division has promoted the use of Semantic Web standards to improve information sharing within a global network of research institutes and related partner organizations. The strategy emphasizes the use of simple descriptive metadata, thesauri, and ontologies for integrating access to information from a wide range of sources for both scientific and non-expert audiences. An early adopter of Semantic Web technology, the AIMS strategy is evolving to help information providers in nineteen language areas use modern Linked Data methods to improve the quality of life in developing rural areas, home to seventy percent of the world’s poor and hungry people.