Dialogo: A Controlled Portuguese For Developing Agroecological Information Systems

Information systems can be useful tools to understand complex agroecological systems. Farmers and extensionists in the Global South may not have access to such information systems due limited resources, skills and opportunities. End-user development (EUD) has the potential to best suit local conditions. In this article we summarises and complement a research and development effort targeting communities and agroecological extension professionals and organisations in the Serra da Capivara Territory, Piauí, Brazil. A retrospective ethnographic study allowed detailed observations such as information abundance, top-down IS bis, informational competence, digital infrastructure limitations. Based on this study a set of requirements was identified with Portuguese syntax and semantics being crucial for a EUD solution. Based on these requirements a multi-paradigm controlled natural language specification is proposed as well as a prototype implementation and evaluation method. This language should provide end-user with a language that enables user to develop IS suitable to their needs and conditions.