Paris, 4 September 2006
EFITA newsletter / 273 / European Federation for Information
Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment
Next EFITA congress in 2007 in Glasgow
2 - 5 July 2007 - Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK
See: http://www.efitaglasgow.org/
Contact: Caroline PARKER
Email: c.g.parker(a)gcal.ac.uk
Wanted: PhD studies
I am a student of MS (IT-AGRI) at Dhirubahai Ambani Institute of Communication
and Information Technology (India). I have done my graduation in agriculture
from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University with an OGPA of 9.2/10. I want to do
PhD in the area "Application Of Information and communication Technology
for sustainable Agriculture and rural development". I have a TOEFL score
of 250/300.I will complete my post graduation in May 2007 hence I have to apply
for PhD this year.
Contact : GAURAV MISHRA,
Email: gaurav_mishra(a)daiict.ac.in
Looking for information about IACS
I am looking for information about IACS (Integrated Agriculture Control
System) implementation in EU 15 countries. It means scope of projects, numbes
of farms coverd by the project and implementation time. Can you please provide
some info or pointer to information on that?
Contact: Lenka KAMENICKA
Email: lenka.kamenicka(a)hp.com
My answer (GW): You will find information on the JRC web site (I gave links
in the efita newsletter but I suppose that some of them are obsolete. My friend
Philippe Loudjani will surely help you (philippe.loudjani(a)jrc.it).
I organised two seminars about GIS and about e-administration
and you could find on our web site information about the French IACS.
Indian company develops home-grown BT-cotton (from Crop Protection Monthly)
Field tests are now underway with India’s first home-grown Bt-cotton varieties.
The Bangalore based biotech company Metahelix.
See: http://www.meta-helix.com/
TOPPS (Train the Operators to Prevent Pollution from Point Sources)
A new jointly funded initiative of the crop protection industry and the
European Commission LIFE instrument to prevent pollution of water by crop protection
products. TOPPS covers 15 countries in the EU, working with a network of partners
to develop best practices and build a training and communication network.
See: http://www.topps-life.org/
Agriculture and ICT: Opening a Dialogue for All - Follow-up to the World
Summit on the Information Society
Development organizations met recently for the first post-WSIS e-agriculture
workshop, organized to facilitate efforts to develop an effective process to
engage as wide a range of stakeholders involved in agriculture who could benefit
from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
The meeting, held on 12 June 2006, at the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations Headquarters in Rome, was part of the follow-up process
to the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). FAO has been appointed by
WSIS to serve as focal point and facilitator for the action line on e-agriculture.
Throughout WSIS, the international community collectively underlined the impact
that ICT can have on sustainable development, and, as such, highlighted agriculture
as a priority area.
Participants in the meeting will be actively working to establish mechanisms
to engage all global stakeholders. Activities will comprise virtual forums,
including email and web based discussions. A key exercise will be the collection
of case studies and best practices in e-agriculture, and making them easily
accessible to all. The primary focus in this first phase is to realize the exchange
of views and sharing of effective practices and resources at regional and international
levels.
Discussions will be facilitated from an inclusive perspective and will engage
stakeholders of different profiles and geographical backgrounds, including but
not limited to: communities and households; service providers (agricultural,
financial and communications) in the public and private sectors; policy-makers
and their advisers; development organizations; and others. Stakeholders will
enrich the definition of e-agriculture and propose areas of focus which will
then be debated virtually and be brought to the attention of the WSIS global
platform. Suggested areas of discussion could include the development of policies,
guidelines, strategies and priorities for successfully developing e-agriculture
as well as fostering partnerships and funding mechanisms.
See: http://www.itu.int/wsis/c7/e-agriculture/index.html
Contact: Charlotte A. MASIELLO-RIOME
Mél: charlotte.masiello(a)fao.org
Nursing home
A man was touring a nursing home with the head administrator,
when he asked a question: "What criteria do you use to determine when a
person has lost his faculties enough to require institutionalization?"
"Well, we have a simple test," said the administrator. "We put
them in a room with a bathtub full of water, give them a teaspoon, a teacup,
and a bucket, and tell them to empty the tub."
"I see," said the man, "a rational person would use the bucket,
so that the job would get done quicker."
"No," said the administrator, "a rational person would pull the
plug. Would you prefer a bed near the wall or near the window?"
About the EFITA mailing list
You can use the efita moderated list (>3000 subscribers) to announce any
event / product / web site / joke (!) related to IT in agriculture, environment,
food industry and rural areas.
If you do not wish to receive our messages, please see: http://www.efita.net to remove your Email address from our mail list.