Paris, 2 August 2004


EFITA newsletter / 170 / European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


EFITA 2005 conference: the best opportunity to present your results, your achievements… and to meet friends and make contacts
25 - 28 July 2005 - Universidade de Trás-os-Montes - Portugal
Contact: Jose BOAVENTURA
E-mail: jboavent(@)utad.pt

 
A few papers in English about ICT in Agriculture
See: http://www.acta-informatique.fr?d=5682
 
 
Heading towards geographical certification for traceability…
32nd AgriMMédia Conference
Auch – Near Toulouse - SW of France - CCI – 5 October 2004 from 10 am to 5 pm
 
>>> Geotraceability
The Gers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) is currently coordinating 2 European research projects whose goals are to produce prototype IT applications capable of geographical certification for the traceability of food products.

-The first project, GeoTraceAgri has resulted in the definition of geo-indicators used to certify the geographical origin of agricultural production. A prototype data base server has also been created, which is on the Internet and fully operational for users. These applications are being tested and validated by key players in agricultural production in five European countries, including the Gers region in France.

- Le second project GTIS CAP (GeoTraceability Integrated System for the Common Agricultural Policy) will define the data required for CAP Map declarations, so that the declaration can be used as a traceability tool for agricultural production.
 
The goals of the 32nd AgriMMédia conference are:
- to disseminate and discuss the results of the GeoTraceAgri project amongst key players in the agricultural sector.
- to present and to discuss the concepts which have helped define the GTIS CAP project and the work schedule for the next 15 months
- to create synergies between these 2 research programmes and the actions currently underway, particularly the project GIEA initiated by the Chamber of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture.
This conference will tale place on 5th October 2004, from 10 am to 5 pm, at the Gers Chamber of Commerce, Place Jean David - B.P. 181 - 32004 AUCH Cedex (Directions can be found on the Internet : http://www.gers.cci.fr).
 
Presentations of our previous conferences can be found on the “ACTA Informatique” Website http://www.acta-informatique.fr (under "Nos colloques AGRIMMEDIA").
 
>>> Programme (to be confirmed)
10 h - Welcome and Introduction to the Conference by the President of the Gers Chamber of Commerce, and the President of the Gers Chamber of Agriculture
10h 30 - GeoTraceAgri Presentation (the project, the concept of geographic traceability, initial results) – Gers CCI and Wallonia Agronomic Research Centre (CRA-W)
11 h 30 - Demonstration of the prototype IT application GeoTraceAgri – My Farm and CIRAD (GeoTraceAgri partners)
11 h 30 - Question/Answer Session – round table  
12 h 00 - Presentation of other techniques: data input for agricultural applications – CDER Informatique  
12 h 30 - Buffet Lunch
14 h 00 - Goals and opportunities for GTIS CAP - CRA-W, Robert OGER, scientific coordinator
14 h 30 - Recap of LPIS (Land Parcel Identification System) in Europe –The European Commission Common Research Centre
15 h 50 - SPOT Satellite imagery for Agriculture and Rural Areas - Marie-Christine DELUCQ - SPOT Image
15 h 20 - Actions planned within the GTIS CAP framework and the role of the principal actors in the Gers - Gers CCI  
15 h 40 - Question/Answer Session – round table  
16 h 00 - GIEA Project / actions in the Gers and in the Midi-Pyrenees Region
16 h 30 - Conclusion
 
See: http://www.efita.net?d=5193
Contact: Guy WAKSMAN
mailto:waksman@acta-informatique.fr
 
 
e-Learning
20-21 September – Amsterdam
See: http://www.know-2.org/index.cfm?&PID=17&DocID=785&action1=display&action2=long
 
 
BCPC seminars
1 - 3 November 2004 - Glasgow, UK
- Food issues, including food safety and well-being
- Water and the environment
- Crop Protection including the regulation and impact of biotechnology
See: http://www.bcpc.org
Contact: Lizzy WHITE
E-mail: lizzy.white(@)bcpc.org
 

Knowledge for Development
See: http://knowledge.cta.int/

 
CAP reform - a long-term perspective for sustainable agriculture
See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/capreform/index_en.htm
 
 
SEEM (Single Electronic European Market) concept
See: http://www.seemseed.net/
 
 
Does IT Matter?
The hottest topic in the IT industry press in the USA these days is Nicholas G. Carr's "Does IT Matter?" Bill Gates, Craig Barrett, and other IT leaders have all responded to Carr's contention that IT is becoming a commodity input, of limited strategic importance. A good starting point to explore that topic is:
http://www.nicholasgcarr.com/articles/matter.html
which has links to many responses to it.
Do Carr's comments apply to IT in agriculture? Maybe. His guidelines for IT investment and management are: spend less; follow; don't lead; innovate when risks are low; and focus more on vulnerabilities than opportunities. Such advice may make sense for the commercial (not experimental and academic) agriculture sectors.
Contact: John SCHUELLER
E-mail: schuejk(@)ufl.edu
 
 
International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development
See: http://www.ifdc.org/
 
 
Farmers' revenue in the EU
See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/Public/datashop/print-catalogue/EN?catalogue=Eurostat&theme=5-Agriculture%20and%20Fishery
 
 
European agriculture
See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/agrista/index_en.htm
 
 
International Agriculture Virtual Exhibition
AgriAhead, the first-ever agricultural exhibition on the Internet, is scheduled to make its debut worldwide for a period of three months starting on July 15 and closing its gates on October 15.  
The Internet agricultural exhibition categories are: irrigation, mechanization technologies, cultivation technologies, fertilizers, chemicals and insecticides, greenhouse cultivation, R&D, packaging, organic agriculture, seeds, gardening and more.   
AgriAhead exhibition maintains that nearly half a million people from all over the world, mainly agricultural professionals, will "visit" the exhibition, which will be open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The Virtual Exhibitions was planned to look like a "conventional" agricultural fair, enabling each exhibitor to present his products and carry out a discussion with visitors using special communication software that was developed for this exhibition which will also enable visitors to 'participate' in conferences, seminars and discussions to be held during the exhibition.  
See: http://www.agriahead.com

 
State of the art monitoring technologies: reducing irregularities in EU agricultural funding
Using innovative Geographic information system (GIS) technology and land parcel identification systems (LPIS), the European Commission is playing a key role in preventing agricultural subsidy irregularities. Through better monitoring of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, the Commission is ensuring that subsidies are distributed more efficiently, fairly and reliably.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting in Brussels today will underline that implementing fair CAP reforms is essential. GIS technology is a computerized form of mapping technology, linked to databases containing information associated with the mapped features, in this case fields and field boundaries. LPIS digital data is a key reference to ensure that aid for any piece of land is claimed once only, and only by one farmer, helping identify anomalies. Farmers can now directly observe their land, more precisely determine their boundaries, and file more accurate subsidy applications. The Commission and EU Member States will also be better able to spot irregularities.  
 
These reforms and monitoring measures will enable the EU-wide geographical management of agricultural subsidy data, says Commissioner Philippe Busquin. European farmers and taxpayers will benefit from a more efficient and equitable distribution of agricultural funds, with the assurance that irregularities are less likely and environmental sustainability is given greater attention.  
 
> Customized maps to simplify farm subsidy applications  
National authorities use integrated administration and control systems (IACS) and LPIS digital data to cross-check eligibility of land use and declared areas. LPIS digital data in most Member States are linked to a carpet-coverage of digitally scanned aerial photography, specially processed to give a highly accurate position (to within a few metres anywhere in the EU) for the fields declared by farmers. This enables the production of customised maps to be sent to farmers as part of the subsidy application procedure. In some Member States, this process is already transferred to the Internet, providing up-to-date information to farmers and interfacing with their own specialised farm management systems.  
 
> A crucial reform tool
GIS technology has been implemented in most of the 15 EU Member States, while nine out of ten new Member States are using it. This technique is effectively acting as the backbone for field identification in the reformed CAP (being progressively implemented from 2005 to 2007). It is expected that, each year, six million farmers and farming businesses will declare some 50 million fields. Future uses will include advisory services to farmers on agri-environmental and rural development measures.
See: http://agrifish.jrc.it/
See: http://www.jrc.cec.eu.int/
Contact: Berta DUANE
E-mail: berta.duane(@)cec.eu.int
 
 
AQUAREC (Integrated Concepts for Reuse of Upgraded Wastewater)
The general objective of the project is to produce knowledge for a rational wastewater reuse strategy as a major component of sustainable water management practices. The project intends to provide integrated strategies for the reuse of upgraded effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as a fresh water substitute primarily for non-potable use (industrial, irrigational, aquifer recharge, recreational and domestic). Seventeeng partners in twelve different countries participate in the project under the co-ordination of the Institut für Verfahrenstechnik in Germany (http://www.ivt.rwth-aachen.de/). The Institute of International Economics (IEI) at the University of Valencia (Spain) is participating as a key partner for the research on the environmental economic perspective.
See: http://www.aquarec.org/
Contact: Mr Thomas Wintgens  
E-mail: Thomas.Wintgens@post.rwth-aachen.de
Contact at the IEI-Universitiy of Valencia: Dr. Francesc Hernandez
E-mail: Francesc.Hernandez(@)uv.es
 
 
The following ad in The Atlanta Journal is reported to have received numerous calls:  
 
SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cosy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. Rub me the right way and watch me respond. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Kiss me and I'm yours. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy.





 

 

 
Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an 8-week old black Labrador retriever.
Contact : Michel DUPRES
E-mail: dupres(a)club-internet.fr


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