# Lexsys: Architecture And Implication For Intelligent Agent Systems

Robert ABC*, 
*LORIA 615, rue du Jardin Botanique, 54600 Villers les Nancy, France 

## Abstracts

LEXSYS, (Legume Expert System) was a project conceived at IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) Ibadan Nigeria. It was initiated by the COMBS (Collaborative Group on Maize-Based Systems Research in the 1990. It was meant for a general framework for characterizing on-farm testing for technology design for sustainable cereal-based cropping system. LEXSYS is not a true expert system as the name would imply, but simply a userfriendly information system. This work is an attempt to give a formal representation of the existing system and then present areas where intelligent agent can be applied. 

Keywords: **Agriculture, computer database, information system, intelligent agent, legume technology,** 

## 1.0 Introduction

LEXSYS, (Legume Expert System) was a project conceived at IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) Ibadan Nigeria. It was initiated by the COMBS (Collaborative Group on Maize-Based Systems Research in the 1990. It was meant for a general framework for characterizing on-farm testing for technology design for sustainable cereal-based cropping system. 

The name LEXSYS, Legume Expert Sys**tem was initially used though changes have being** 
suggested. It is not a true expert system as the name would imply, but simply a user-friendly information system. The system has been updated severally despite the fact of its poor documentation. There had been several versions in DOS and the first window version came out in 1999. It had a remarkable uplift when the KBS version was developed by a research group at the department of Agricultural and Forestry Science, the University of Wales, United Kingdom under the project *"Education and research for a sustainable world"* **. Two versions of** 
LEXSYS-KBS have been developed. 

LEXSYS lack proper documentation and this may suggest why follow-up is poor and localised. Results and contribution from users / researchers were communicated via email within the Agricultural research centres. The information dissemination is not wide and update is not regular. The aim of this work is to produce technical reference 
- **for anyone interested in the work** - **for researchers/users who make use of it** - **to develop a basis for integration into other similar systems** - **promote cooperative information system development and** - **to develop a base for internet integration** 

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## 2.0 Related Works

Several works related to information system development has been done in the CGIAR centres. 

Some of these works are localised to a particular centre while others are inter-centre. LEXSYS 
was local and its main focus was IITA and other collaborating institutions. It was not developed on an existing framework of a particular system nor was it developed based on outside model. It was developed based on simple reflections on needs and prevailing problems associated with the integration of legumes into tropical farming systems at IITA and related NARS. The works reviewed here are generally works carried out in the CGIAR centres. They includes MPTS, 