Construction and Development of GMS Agricultural lnformation Network Based on Stakeholder Analysis

Bin ZHANG，Xueling CHU，Guang YANG

Foreign Economic Cooperation Center，Ministry of Agriculture，Beijing 100125，China

Construction and Development of GMS Agricultural lnformation Network Based on Stakeholder Analysis

Bin ZHANG*，Xueling CHU，Guang YANG

Foreign Economic Cooperation Center，Ministry of Agriculture，Beijing 100125，China

Based on stakeholder analysis，this paper analyzed influence of stakeholders on construction and operation of agricultural information network （AIN）in the Greater Mekong Sub-region（GMS）.It elaborated and analyzed stakeholders such as China，Asian Development Bank，other GMS state government agricultural departments and users.Finally，it came up with pertinent recommendations for development of GMS-AIN.

The Greater Mekong Sub-region（GMS）；Information；Stakeholders

A t the Second Meeting of the GreaterMekong Sub-region（GMS）Working Group on Agriculture （2004），China proposed establishing GMS agricultural information network（AIN）.The GMS-AIN will be used as agricultural information exchange platform，to promote personnel and information exchange between agricultural departments in GMS，promote regional agricultural cooperation，and promote sub-regional agricultural and rural economic development.This proposal received a positive response from Asian Development Bank and other GMS countries.

Since the second half year of 2004，China organized forces to planning and preparation of AIN construction，and held GMS-AIN Construction Workshop jointly with Asian Development Bank in December，2004.During the workshop，GMS countries reached preliminary common understanding of AIN construction，and entrusted Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences （CAAS）to set up the main website and perform webpage design，system development，data acquisition，and information upload.In 2005， English main website started trial operation.In June 2006，Chinese branch website was established and put into trial operation.In this period，Asian Development Bank dispatched personnel to guide the website construction for many times.Since the second half year of 2006，Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences assisted other GMS countries in building branch websites of their official languages，and held the second information network technology workshop and training class in January 2007.By then，the GMS-AIN was established completely. In April 2007，at the First GMS Agricultural Ministers’Meeting，agricultural ministers of six GMS countries and the vice-president of Asian Development Bank jointly launched GMS-AIN website （http://www.gmsain.org）.This website becomes a significant achievement of GMS agricultural cooperation.From then on，to ensure operation of GMS website and enhance connection of GMS countries，China and Asian Development Bank jointly held a series of AIN annualmeetings/workshops between 2007-2012（Table 1）.

Table 1 International workshops/training classes related to construction of GMS-AIN

Stakeholder Analysis［1-2］

Stakeholders of GMS-AIN mainly include agriculturaldepartments of GMS countries，Asian Development Bank，Scientific Research Institutions，as shown in Fig.1.Development and operation of GMS-AIN are closely related with these stakeholders.

China is the advocate，promoter and executor of GMS-AIN.Compared with other GMS countries，China remains in relatively leading position in information network construction and has comparative advantage in technologies and talents.Therefore，China plays an important role in construction and operation of GMS-AIN.For several years，China has input lot of manpower and materials，organized and completed website development，assisted other GMS countries in website construction，held severaltraining classes for information personnel and management personnel of other GMS countries，promoted formulation of Network Management Provisions（Draft），and actively enhanced daily communication andexchange with other GMS countries，and helped them to solve relevant problems.In 2007-2009，operation and maintenance of all website servers were undertaken byChina.From 2009，serversof branch websites were handed over to other GMS countries，while operation and maintenance ofmain English website were still undertaken by China.

Asian Development Bank is a steadfast supporter and important or-ganizer and coordinator of GMS-AIN. As a promoter of GMS cooperation mechanism，Asian Development Bank always spares no effort to promote sub-regional agricultural cooperation for many years.Since China proposed establishing GMS-AIN，it has obtained support and assistance from Asian Development Bank.In the framework of GMS working group on agriculture，Asian Development Bank experts provides technical guidance for GMS-AIN construction， Asian Development Bank provides financial support for GMS-AIN construction， purchases much-needed hardware and software devices for other GMS countries，and supports Chinese experts to make field survey in other GMS countries. The AIN has become an important achievement of agricultural cooperation between Asian Development Bank and GMS.Core Agriculture Support Program Phase II of Asian Development Bank also takes GMS-AIN upgrade and transformation as support object.To promote sustainable operation of GMS-AIN，Asian Development Bank organized experts to carry out study of road map for website transformation.It also engaged in coordinating GMS countries，and made effort to promote transformation of GMS-AIN to e-commerce platform.

Other GMS countries play a very important role in construction and operation of GMS-AIN，and their participation desire and implementation ability directly relate to operation effect of GMS-AIN.National conditions of other five GMS countries are different and economic development level is varied［3］.These can be divided into two types:one is Thailand and Vietnam and the other is Cambodia，Laos and Myanmar.In Thailand and Vietnam，there is better foundation of information network infrastructure and corresponding technical forces，thus the construction and operation of GMSAIN are relatively smooth.And they are able to complete information collection and upload of branch websites in time according to website design requirements.In Cambodia，Laos and Myanmar，the foundation is relatively weak，and there are problemsof shortage of funds，insufficient website management personnel，and weak ability of technical personnel，frequent change of information personnel and liaison men，under developed hardware and software devices，and update of branch website information not in time.

Website developer is the important implementer of website construction.These years，website developer，operation maintenance party，trainer，and adviser are assumed by the Chinese Academy of AgriculturalSciences.In the process of concept to reality of GMS-AIN，Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences plays an important role.In this process，Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has established excellent cooperation with other GMS countries and Asian Development Bank，and received general recognition of all GMS countries and Asian Development Bank，which lay a solid foundation for continuing participating in GMS-AIN construction.Recently，with promotion of Asian Development Bank，GMS-AIN is gradually receiving attention of some international companies.This is opportunity and challenge for website developer.

User is the key for keeping vitality of website.Since it was put into operation in 2007，the total visits have reached 75 895，with annual visits up to 9 400，and the page views reached 106 197 with annual views of 13 000. Although the webpage was changed in 2011，there is still no breakthrough. The click through rate is closely connected with functional positioning，target group positioning， information quantity，information pertinence，and webpage attraction.Low click through rate leads to unstable user group.This is also an important problem restricting future development of the website.

Other similar websites are also potential competitors.Although GMSAIN belongs to inter-governmental regional cooperative website，it has high starting point and certain public welfare nature，without stable，prompt，accurate，and comprehensive information channel，GMS-AIN still fails to become authoritative information issue website for sub-regional agricultural cooperation.Compared with other similar websites，GMS-AIN has no significant competitive edge.

On the basis of the above analysis，combining influence powerof stakeholders and action predictability/ strength，we can make following classifications of stakeholders according to theirfunctionsin construction and maintenance of GMS-AIN:（i）Asian Development Bank and Chinese government:having higher influence power and action predictability/strength；（ii）users:having lower influence power and action predictability/strength；（iii）agricultural departments of other GMS countries:having high influence power but lower action predictability/strength；（iv）other similar websites and website developers:having low influence power but high action predictability/ strength.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Considering different influence power of stakeholders，it is recommended to take different countermeasures in the process of construction anddevelopmentofGMS-AINin future.

Agricultural departments of other GMS countries are major stakeholders in GMS-AlN construction

Government of other GMS countries is an essential foundation supporting the attribute of regional cooperation of GMS-AIN.Support and participation，as well as technologies，funds，and talents，of all GMS countries are directly connected with development prospects of GMS-AIN.However，since there are differences in economic development level between China and other GMS countries，it is recommended to seriously consider actual situations and specific demands of all GMS countries，seek common points and balance points on the basis of full negotiation，and take step-bystep implementation and realization of goals in phases.

Besides，although all should receive close attention，it is required to distinguish attention to other GMS countries.For Thailand and Vietnam，especially Thailand，the information network technology is relatively strong and they keep excellent cooperation with Asian Development Bank，have strong desire for GMS agricultural cooperation，which are increasingly re-flected in GMS-AIN construction. Therefore，in the construction of GMSAIN，it is recommended to bring into play positive and demonstration role of the Thailand，take full advantage of its technological and intelligence forces，and enhance cooperation.As for Cambodia，Myanmar，and Laos，these countries are positive for GMS-AIN construction，but due to development status，，they need more help.Therefore，it is recommended to focus on attitude of these three countries towards GMS-AIN construction，seek and respect their opinions and provide recommendations，to help them reinforce infrastructure construction and enhance sustained attraction of website to them.

Asian Development Bank is the important supporter of GMS-AlN construction

In the construction of GMS-AIN，it is recommended to bring into full play organization，coordination，and propaganda role ofAsian Development Bank，strive for financial and talent support from Asian Development Bank All GMS countries need to cooperate with Asian Development Bank to carry out relevant activities，and make effort to keep its enthusiasm in GMS-AIN construction.

Website developer

China should urge the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to input forces as always.Firstly，Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciencesshould strengthen management and maintenance of the website.Secondly，Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences should closely follow the requirements of Asian Development Bank and GMS countries，constantly make innovation，improve skills，learn experience of other similarwebsites，enhance cooperation with other domestic companies，and promote functional upgrade of GMSAIN［4］.

Users should not be neglected in the development of GMS-AlN

The ultimate purpose of the website is to attract users.Only when there are users，may functions of the website be brought into play and realize value of the website.To increase the click through rate of the website，it needs joint effort of all stakeholders，including further making clear functional positioning of website，subdividing user groups，ensuring information update frequency，getting the firsthand information resources，and enhancing practibility of the website information［5］.

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Responsible editor：Huadong GUO

Responsible proofreader：Xiaoyan WU

基于利益相关者分析的GMS农业信息网建设与发展

张斌*，储雪玲，杨光 （农业部对外经济合作中心，北京 100125）

该文采用利益相关者分析方法，重点分析了各利益相关方对大湄公河次区域（GMS）农业信息网建设与运行的影响，对中方、亚洲开发银行、其他GMS国家政府农业部门以及用户各个利益相关者进行了详细的介绍与分析，并在此基础上提出了GMS农业信息网未来发展的有关建议。

大湄公河次区域（GMS）；信息；利益相关方

张斌（1981-），女，河北涞源人，硕士，经济师，研究方向：农业国际合作，E-mail：yuzb1981@163.com。*通讯作者。

2015-09-15

*Corresponding author.E-mail:yuzb1981@163.com

Received:September 15，2015 Accepted:November 20，2015

修回日期 2015-11-20