Paris, 21 April 2008


EFITA newsletter / 358 / European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


Workshop on Learning Technology Standards for Agriculture and Rural Development (AgroLT 2008)
This is the final call of papers for the Workshop on Learning Technology Standards for Agriculture and Rural Development (AgroLT 2008), that will take place in Athens, Greece, on September 19, 2008 (http://infolab-dev.aua.gr/agrolt/2008/).
AgroLT will be organised in conjuction with the 4th International Conference on Information & Communication Technologies in Bio & Earth Sciences (HAICTA'08). The deadline for abstract submissions is: April 15, 2008.
The aim of the AgroLT 2008 Workshop is to bring together researchers and implementers that are working on the design and development of technology-enhanced learning systems and services to support the needs of the agricultural and rural communities. It aims to serve as a discussion forum where interested experts will present the results of their work, exchange experience, and establish liaisons with other groups that are working on related subjects. Overall, it aims to outline the rich potential of the agricultural domain as an application field for learning technologies.
See: http://infolab-dev.aua.gr/agrolt/2008/
Contact: Gauri SALOKHE
E-mail: gauri(dot)salokhe(at)fao(dot)org


Indigenous knowledge / Latest issue of ICT Update magazine
Indigenous peoples all over the world are using technology to record and protect their traditional knowledge and culture. They are documenting and preserving agricultural methods that have been passed down through centuries. And it is not only small communities who rely on these traditional means. It is estimated that two thirds of the world’s population depend on food produced by traditional farming methods.
ICT Update () is a bimonthly printed bulletin, web magazine, and accompanying email newsletter focusing on the use of information and communication technologies in agriculture in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. It is published in English and French, by CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation) in Wageningen in the Netherlands.
See : http://ictupdate.cta.int
Contact: Jim DEMPSEY
E-mail: jim(a)contactivity.com


FAO has launched the "Contract Farming Resource Centre" web site
FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division has launched the “Contract Farming Resource Centre”, a new web site where information on contract farming is made available to the international community.
See: www.fao.org/ag/ags/contract-farming.
Users are welcome to send their comments and contributions of additional information to:
Contract-Farming(a)fao.org
Information provided by Carlos da Silva
E-mail: Carlos.DaSilva(a)fao.org


Wreck (old joke)
Marc finally decides to take a vacation. He books himself on a Caribbean cruise and proceeds to have the time of his life until the boat sank.
He found himself swept up on the shore of an island with no other people, no supplies. Nothing. Only bananas and coconuts.
After about four months, he is lying on the beach one day when the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen rows up to him. In disbelief, he asks her, 'Where did you come from? How did you get here?'

'I rowed over from the other side of the island,' she says. 'I landed here when my cruise ship sank.'
'Amazing,' he says. 'You were really lucky to have a rowboat wash up with you.'
'Oh, this?' replies the woman. 'I made the rowboat out of raw material found on the island. I whittled the oars from gum tree branches; I wove the bottom from palm branches; and the sides and stern came from a Eucalyptus tree.'

'But .. but .. that's impossible,' stutters Marc. 'You had no tools or hardware. How did you manage?'
'Oh, no problem,' replies the woman. 'On the South side of the island, there is a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed. I found if I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. I used that for tools and used the tools to make the hardware.' Marc is stunned.

'Let's row over to my place,' she says.
After a few minutes of rowing, she docks the boat at a small wharf. As Marc looks onto shore, he nearly falls out of the boat. Before him is a stone walk leading to an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white. While the woman ties up the rowboat with an expertly woven hemp rope, he can only stare ahead, dumbstruck.

As they walk into th e house, she says casually, 'It's not much, but I call it home. Sit down, please. Would you like to have a drink?'
'No, no thank you,' he says, still dazed. 'Can't take any more coconut juice.'
'It's not coconut juice,' the woman replies. 'I built a still. How about a Pina Colada?'
Trying to hide his continued amazement, he accepts, and they sit down on her hand-woven couch to talk. After they have exchanged their stories, the woman announces, 'I'm going to slip into something more comfortable. Would you like to take a shower and shave? There is a razor upstairs in the cabinet in the bathroom.'

No longer questioning anything, Marc goes into the bathroom. There, in the cabinet, is a razor made from a bone handle. Two shells honed to a hollow-ground edge are fastened on to its end inside of a swivel mechanism. 'WOW! This woman is amazing,' he muses, 'what next?'
When he returns, she greets him wearing 'nothing but vines' strategically positioned, and smelling faintly of gardenias. She beckons for him to sit down next to her.
'Tell me,' she begins suggestively, slithering closer to him, 'We've been out here for a really long time. I know you've been lonely. There's something I'm sure you really feel like doing right now, something you've been longing for all these months. You know...'
She stares into his eyes. He can't believe what he's hearing!
'You mean...', he swallows excitedly, 'We can watch the LSU game from here?
Contact: Bill PARLETTE
E-mail: billparlette(a)compuserve.com


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