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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