Over the past few years agricultural professionals working in information technology (IT) have organized themselves into regional associations. Until 2003, two organizations existed:
In the Americas there was no formal organization at the continental level, although several organizations brought AgIT professionals together through a series of conferences that go as far back as 1982. One such activity is the World Conference on Computers in Agriculture and Natural Resources (WCCA) recently organized by ASAE (USA) and SBI/AGRO (Brasil). There are no equivalent organizations in Africa.
In the recent past, the existing organizations have been closely collaborating with each other, especially in the organization of conferences. At the last joint meeting between WCCA and SBI/AGRO in Brazil (March 2002), AgIT professionals met to discuss formalizing the partnership into a World Federation of Information Technology in Agriculture (WFITA).
As a result of this meeting, participants from the Americas recognized the need to establish a regional organization equivalent to AFITA and EFITA. Thus, the idea of creating a Pan American Federation of Information Technology in Agriculture (PanAFITA) emerged.
Establish a Federation of agricultural professionals and organizations involved in IT to promote the appropriate use of IT in agriculture and to provide an environment for the exchange of ideas and information that improves the capacity of the agricultural professional and the quality of services provided to the diverse stakeholders of agriculture.
As a result of these deliberations, an AgIT organization be created
for the Americas under the name of Pan-American Federation of Information
Technology in Agriculture was created (July, 2003). The founding
members of the organization are:
Organization |
Country |
Representatives |
Email |
| The Society for Engineering in Food and ASAE | USA | Dr. Fedro Zazueta | |
| Asociación Nacional de Especialistas en Irrigación (ANEI) | Mexico | Dr. Jose Reyes | jose.reyes@correo.chapingo.mx |
| Earth University | Costa Rica | Dr. James French Dr. James Sherrard |
|
| Sociedade Brasileira de Informática Aplicada à Agropecuária e Agroindústria (SBI/AGRO) | Brasil | Dr. Andre Zambalde | zamba@ufla.br |
| Universidad Autónoma Chapingo | México | Dr. José Reyes | jose.reyes@correo.chapingo.mx |
| Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile | Chile | Dr. Luis Gurovich | lgurovic@puc.cl |
| Universidad de Concepción | Chile | Dr. Eduardo Holzapfel | eholzapf@udec.cl |
| Universidade Federal de Viçosa | Brasil | Dr. Carlos da Silva | carthur@ufv.br |
| University of Florida | USA | Dr. Jiannong Xin | xin@ufl.edu |