The Electronic Document Management system is aimed at improving the service delivery of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries to its farmers, fisherfolk, foresters and tenants. Since implementation in 2017, the system has captured 6,500 tenants, approximately 300,000 pages of legal documents accessible through a secure portal. This portal increases the transparency and effectiveness of State land management and administration. The system is targeted to connect the 80 satellite offices of the Ministry who process land-related activities for 1.3 million citizens of the country that the Ministry serves. Spatial technology and ICT is harnessed to provide a digital platform for clients to access through their barcoded Land Card in the Ministry offices or over the phone using a unique parcel ID generated from the Geographic Information System (GIS). This digital access reduces the time from approximately 3 months to 3 seconds to locate a file. The project has now gone into its second phase and is developing a web portal for access to public clients to pay rents online, view rental balance, web chat with staff, log in and view the stage of their lease application, amongst several other queries.

The objective of the EDMS Project is to ensure alignment with the service delivery objectives of the Ministry through a digital Land Client. The EDMS allows better management, tracking and updating of State land files, streamlining access throughout the Ministry, eliminating bottlenecks and optimizing security. A digital and secure record of each State land file is imperative for the effective and efficient management and administration of each State land parcel. It is essential to utilise ICT's to boost the service delivery and information access which will, in turn, equip decision-makers and involve stakeholders for overall sustainable development of the country's agricultural, fisheries and forestry sector.

https://agriculture.gov.tt/

• Trinidad and Tobago

• Youth
• Older persons
• Women
• People with disabilities
• The unemployed
• The poor
• Remote and rural communities
• farmers, fisher-folk, foresters

The digital conversion of State land files can be applied to other organisations that utilise hard copy files for land-based assets, such as parcels, plots or buildings. The project uses open coding to encourage other Ministry's such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development or the Land Settlement Agency to utilise the system for their digital conversion process. Additionally, the work process follows the Document Control Procedure - ISO 9001 that can be replicated in other environments that track the history of land tenure, administer legal documents for land or manage a large number of tenants.

EDMS is critical to proper management of State land and land-based assets, therefore priority has been placed on the completion of the project phase into the programme implementation. The current phase of the project entails the development of a web portal for client access and e-payments. This initiative will improve the ease of doing business with Trinidad, boost rental collection and facilitate red-flagging of outstanding rents and rents up for review. The aforementioned business case for this non-commercial government entity will drive the longevity and sustainability of the project. Additionally, the project is embedded in the work process of the Ministry and existing legislation requires a digital inventory of all public property, inclusive of Land. The embedded work process will help transition to programme implementation and will again ensure sustainability. The land is also the largest asset of the country and thus a priority function is its management and administration, enhanced by an EDMS.

The WSIS values and goals to use technology to improve public lives are the essential goals of this project. Thus, extending the digital arm of the Ministry through e-services, including the barcoded Land Card, Land Dashboard for clients and e-payment through the National ICT Company. The goal is to reach persons who are physically unable to go to an office to conduct business, provide convenient e-services and to reduce the lengthy time it takes to retrieve physical files. The use of this technology removes any social divide enabling all citizens to benefit from access to information and knowledge, also increasing transparency and accountability of the Ministry.