Decision Support Systems in Agriculture: Some Successes and a Bright Future

This chapter is dedicated to the capture, preservation, reuse and learning of agricultural knowledge. We illustrate the potential of information technology with a simple example of a writing pen. Before the age of information, a person with a pen or pencil could write beautiful poetry. If she gave or loaned the pen to someone else, she could no longer write poetry, but the other person, would have gained a tool that helped write poetry. In this case, the first person’s loss is the second person’s gain, which, in economic terms, is a zero-sum game. Of importance is the fact that the relationship between the first and second person has changed and in order to continue writing poetry the first must obtain permission from the second to continue writing. Thus a certain measure of power has been passed with the possession of the pen and a dependency has changed between the first person and the second. Rare is the individual that does not see this as a clear disadvantage for the first person. Also rare is the relationship between two people that would not be strained by such a reversal. Imagine, however, if the first person were to make a copy of the pen and give it to the second person, while retaining the use of the pen and thus suffer no loss in ability to write poetry. The relationship between the first person and the second changes from one of dependency to one of collaboration and mutual empowerment. Rare is the relationship between two persons that would not be strengthened rather than strained by the sharing of our information age pen. In this case no longer is it a zero-sum transaction. No longer is there the capable and the incapable. No longer is there gain of one at the loss of the other. Rather it has become a win-win situation in which all gain. Under these conditions, the first person is more likely and could be stimulated to make copies and distribute pens to everyone in the world, since it no longer results in their losing the tools to write poetry. This is the potential of information technology. Information technology can enable and empower us to share tools without the loss of use of the tool ourselves. It seems we have yet to fully exploit the potential of this technology.