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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Hello OSGEO listers,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I am Christopher Legg, and I manage the Geospatial lab at
the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in <st1:City w:st="on">Ibadan</st1:City>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>
(so I will not be coming to the JUGSA meeting). The IITA works throughout
sub-Saharan Africa, with offices in Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin Republic, DRC,
Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, and the Geospatial Lab supports
agricultural research work in these countries by preparing base-maps, carrying
out targeting studies, and mapping data collected by scientists. We use ESRI and
ENVI software for GIS and RS respectively, and maintain as comprehensive a
collection as possible of geospatial data of <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>,
including the complete African Landsat 1990 and 2000 archives.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I have been in GIS and remote sensing since 1984, starting
with using Intergraph, then moving to ESRI (Unix ArcInfo, then ArcView,
recently ArcGIS). I have worked in GIS in the Middle East, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Cameroon</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>, initially as a geologist
and later on renewable resources.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>My interest in OS GIS is mainly from the point of view of
wider dissemination of GIS technology to users who cannot afford commercial
systems. In IITA we have enough commercial licences (ESRI gives us a substantial
discount) for internal use, but we are often asked to run training programmes
for staff from African research institutes and universities. There is little
point in training someone to use software which they cannot afford to buy, so I
am looking for low-cost or freeware software, and OS could be an option. Up to
now I have experimented with DIVA, a GIS (raster and vector) package developed
within the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),
of which IITA is a part. This is not strictly Open Source, but is a very
powerful suite, and free to use. I am open to other possibilities, but I am not
really a developer, more a user. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I welcome any comments and suggestions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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