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2. NEED FOR EXPERT SYSTEMS IN AGRICULTUREThe need for expert systems for technical information transfer in agriculture can be identified by recognizing the problems in using the traditional system for technical information transfer, and by proving that expert systems can help overcome the problems addressed and be feasibly developed. 2.1. INFORMATION TRANSFER PROBLEMSStatic information: Examining the information stored and available in the agriculture domain revealed that this information is static and may not respond to the growers' needs. All extension documentations give general recommendations because there are many factors to be taken into consideration; thus, many different recommendations should be included in the document. Specialties integration: Most of the extension documents handle problems related to a certain specialty: for example, plant pathology, entomology, nutrition, or any other specialty. In real situations, the problem may be due to more than one cause and may need the integration of the knowledge behind the information included in the different extension documents and books. Combination of more than one information source: Images may sometimes need an expert to combine other factors to reach an accurate diagnosis; and even if a diagnosis is reached, the treatment of the diagnosed disorder should be provided through the extension document. Updating: Changes in chemicals, their doses, and their effects on the environment should be considered. Updating this information in documents and distributing them takes long time. The same arguments can be made for audio tapes, which are another form of extension documents but in voice instead of written words. Video tapes are more stable than other media, as the information provided through the tape describes usually well-established agricultural operations. However, if the tape includes information as to what is commonly included in documents and audio tapes, this information should be updated. Information unavailability: Information may not be available in any form of media. It may only be available from human experts, extensionists, and/or experienced growers. In addition, the information transfer from specialists and scientists to extensionists and farmers, represents a bottleneck for the development of agriculture on the national level. The current era is witnessing a vast development in all fields of agriculture. Therefore, there is a need to transfer the information of experts in certain domains to the general public of farmers, especially that the number of experts in new technologies is lesser than their demand. 2.2. SUITABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF EXPERT SYSTEMSThe problems already raised can, to a large extent, be solved using expert systems to generate the information to the growers by using its knowledge base and reasoning mechanism acquired from human experts and other sources. The expert system generates the advice based on the knowledge base and reasoning mechanism that are actually behind all developed extension documents, and more. Consequently, when a user enters the data of his/her plantation to the system, the appropriate advice is generated. There are no limitations as to the number of generated recommendations. Therefore, the expert system overcomes the problem of static information provided in extension documents. The knowledge acquisition process for building an expert system facilitates the integration of knowledge and experiences of different specialties. For example, an agricultural diagnostic expert system requires the integration of specialists in nutrition, plant pathology, entomology, breeding, and production. Therefore, when a problem occurs, the system can help the user in identifying the cause of the problem in a much more efficient way than consulting a document that handles a specific problem. Expert systems can be integrated with other information sources, such as image bases and/or textual bases, to make use of these sources. For example, images can be used for describing symptoms, as it is very difficult and very confusing to describe them in words. Images can also be used for confirming the diagnosis of the cause of a certain disorder. Expert systems can also be integrated with textual databases that may be the extension documents related to the specialty and/or commodity handled by an expert system. This textual database can be used for explanation purposes of basic terms and operations. It can also be used to confirm the reached conclusion in some situations. The updating problem is also found in expert systems. However, the knowledge base can be maintained more efficiently than maintaining manual documents. The problem of updating the versions in the field can be eliminated in case the expert systems are stored on a central computer and accessed through a computer network. The undocumented experience and knowledge can be acquired and stored in the knowledge base of an expert system for a certain specialty and/or commodity. This experience can be available to all growers using the system. The feedback from the usage of the system can be used as a source of information when analyzed by researchers, the knowledge behind it can be identified, and the knowledge base can be updated continuously. Expert systems can also help in overcoming the problem of the relatively few numbers of experts relative to the demand from the growers. Expert systems technology can help transfer the information of experts, and experienced growers, to farmers through the extension system.
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