ICRISAT launches website for sharing information

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT), which conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, Thursay launched a website to make large volumes of scientific knowledge and information easily accessible by the public.

The website (exploreit.icrisat.org) was launched Thursday, said a statement by ICRISAT, which has its headquarters at Patancheru near here.

EXPLOREit will become the main source of ICRISAT's scientific information, with profiles of all topics, systems, crops, locations and resources where it works.

"We have not only given easier access to all of ICRISAT's 40 years of scientific research through EXPLOREit, but we have achieved this through the MultiProfiler concept, a revolutionary way of making information accessible," said ICRISAT director general William D. Dar.

"Sharing publicly-funded agricultural information in the most accessible way is critically important to achieve our agricultural development goals of reducing rural poverty, increasing food security, improving human health and nutrition, and ensuring more sustainable management of natural resources," he said.

With two regional hubs and five country offices in sub-Saharan Africa, ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.