SAMsn Launches Its New Information Hub on Sustainable Management Systems

The Sustainable Agriculture/Horticultural Management Systems Network (SAMsn) website was launched on 30th June 2004 at Te Papa and, as developer of the website, Katipo was there.

There are a bewildering number of resources available for information on Sustainable Management Systems (SMS). With increasing demand from consumers for information on foods and other agricultural goods, the number of "environmental management" and "quality assurance" programmes issued has risen. This means that gathering information into a cohesive sustainable management programme tailored to a specific industry can be time-consuming, costly and daunting for any organisation.

An extensive research project by The AgriBusiness Group (www.agribusinessgroup.com) was set up to combine and cross-reference resources from 37 agricultural and horticultural industry groups. The project identified a clear need for a centralised online source for all information related to Sustainable Management Systems, and SAMsn.org.nz was born.

The SAMsn website acts as an information hub, designed to help with the process of developing a sustainable management programme. It's primarily a resource directory, giving details of the legislation, standards and guidelines relevant to any SMS programme. Users can take an online survey which establishes their need for an SMS system and suggests tools and actions that would best address specific issues. Using the "My Resources" section of the website, users can create a personal directory which bookmarks items for future reference.

The website was developed with accessibility in mind, particularly for those on dialup connections in rural areas. Download times were kept to a minimum through intelligent page design. Perl and MySQL were used as development tools and a version of the web application is available on CD. The CD uses redirects through the SAMsn website to online resources, allowing links to be kept current as sites change and preventing the CD from becoming obsolete overnight.

For more information on the SAMsn project and Sustainable Management Systems visit:
www.samsn.org.nz

For information on other Katipo projects, past and present visit:
www.katipo.co.nz