Paris, 6 October 2008
EFITA newsletter / 380 / European Federation for Information Technology in
Agriculture, Food and the Environment
Wanted (alive!): PhD candidate on the topic "Systematic design of
automated sustainable horticultural production systems"
Focus is on development of design methods for and modelling, simulation
and optimisation of high-tech horticultural production systems with main emphasis
on labour, mechanisation and robotics. I seek candidates with a background
in industrial engineering, systems engineering, logistics or agricultural
engineering.
Contact : Prof.dr.ir. Eldert J. VAN HENTEN - Farm Technology Group, Wageningen
UR &
Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture, Wageningen, The Netherlands
E-mail: eldert.vanhenten(a)wur.nl
TERRA MADRE World Congress
23 - 27 October 2008 – TORINO
See: http://forum.terramadre2008.org
See: http://www.terramadre.info/
Information provided by Christian KLEPS
E-mail: asas(a)asas.ro
Integrated Assessment of Agriculture and Sustainable Development; Setting
the Agenda for Science and Policy
10 - 12 March 2009 - EGMOND AAN ZEE, The Netherlands
> Abstracts can be submitted till October 15, under ca. 20 different sessions.
See www.conference-agsap.org tabs Program and Abstract. Please pay special
attention to session B6, "Software infrastructures and tools for integrated
assessments" http://www.conference-agsap.org/session_B6.htm
> Registration is open now. See http://www.conference-agsap.org/Registration.htm.
A preliminary programme with keynote speakers can be downloaded from the website.
See: http://www.conference-agsap.org/Programme.htm
Contact: Floor BROUWER
E-mail: floor.brouwer(a)wur.nl
Alexander Sideridis new EFITA president elect
During the HAICTA conference last week it was officially announced that Alexander
Sideridis, professor at Athens Agricultural University, is the next EFITA
president elect. This means that from the next EFITA conference in Wageningen
July 2009 he will be EFITA president till 2011. On behalf of the EFITA board
I would like to congratulate Alexander with this and wish him a very good
preparation for this very important and honorific job! This means that we
very soon also have to think about who is going to be the next president elect
from July 2009 onwards. Proposals are welcomed by the EFITA board.
Contact: Sjaak WOLFERT - EFITA president
E-mail: sjaak.wolfert(a)wur.nl
The Forum of Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA-Accra) is currently
working on an inventory of projects about audio based farmer information systems
and on Agricultural Information on Demand using mobile phone.
We are particularly interested in Farmer Information Systems in Africa
which are going beyond Market Information Systems.
1. Voice enabled information delivery services
A telephone based information delivery service that provides guidance
on improved farming methods and advice on market access to improve the lives
of rural farming communities. Answers to many of these problems may well be
on the internet but with connectivity, literacy and language barrier, this
is way beyond the reach of the vast majority. So a simple telephone community
fixed phone or mobile serves as the medium of information exchange, while
sophisticated communication technology and computing applications have been
configured at the back-end platform to provision of requisite information
service. The solution comprises of a unified messaging platform incorporating
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) functionality, integrated with a Customer
Relationship Management application to support integrated call handling and
management of very large audio database.
Example: Interactive Voice Recording Systems (IVR) and pre-recorded Question
and Answer Services (QAS) is used since since 2006 in India using Hindi. LifeLines
India (< OneWorld South Asia)
2. National farmers information services
National Farmers Information Services are a promising new field of research
and application in the emerging field of e-agriculture.
Example: Such a pilot project, The National Farmers Information Service
(NAFIS), was launched in Kenya on 29 April 2008 to enable farmers receive
timely agriculture information through their mobile phones in national languages
Kiswahili and English. This project will develop comprehensive tools and resources
to improve the versatility and user-friendliness of NAFIS. These are text-to-speech
systems, Automatic Speech Recognition systems, multilingual agricultural terminology
banks, easily-navigable agricultural content and an expert system to make
NAFIS user-driven and hence more responsive to farmers' queries.
3. Dial-up radio: agricultural information on demand
A series of short segment audio programs that provide small-scale farmers
telephone access to relevant information through an automated voice system.
This “dial-up” radio system is an information hub featuring a regularly updated,
diverse menu of pre-recorded agricultural content.
Example: Kubatana - the Zimbabwean NGO Network Alliance Project. This
project will develop pre-recorded agricultural content in Shona, Ndebele and
English and a series of flexible audio magazines that will enable farmers
to leave messages and ask questions thereby creating two-way communication
with other farmers, suppliers, consumers, transport networks, support services
and agricultural extension workers.
4. Extension services based on mobile phone and database monitoring
A media channel that allows anyone anywhere to affordably share market
information via mobiles. By tracking activities and profiles, the service
becomes a crucial profiling and business monitoring tool, as well as an advertising
medium. By focusing on profiling, this service that can minimize risk in transactions,
offer some brokerage services, and provide a revenue stream by permitting
advertising and data mining. To date, most licensees have been donor projects.
Example: TradeNet began development in 2005, but was officially launched
in 2007. TradeNet’s BusyLab has spent three years building an openAPIstructure
which allows any entrepreneur to leverage their network of users and mobile
operators and get a service launched quickly. TradeNet projects to be operational
in 25 countries by 2011.
5. E-learning for basic skills, agricultural education and market information
The provision of information and learning material for market and agricultural
skills.
Example 1: Collecting and Exchanging of Local Agriculture Content (CELAC)
is a project of BROSDI (Busoga Rural Open Source and Development Initiative)
aiming at use of ICT methods and knowledge sharing to enhance poverty reduction
and food security. CELAC operates in all the four regions in Uganda. The CELAC
Project seeks to collect and exchange this local agricultural content that
works from the farmers.
Example 2: Fruiléma, a business venture consisting of 5 mango producers,
recently launched a web platform with help from the International Institute
for Communication and Development (IICD) - an international NGO based
in the Netherlands and Manobi - a private sector company based in Senegal.
The platform enables potential buyers to follow the whole production chain,
right from where and how the mango was grown to as far as the company that
is offering them for sale. Thanks to this platform, the fruits sold by Fruiléma
can be compared with the quality criteria defined by GlobalGap (formerly known
as EurepGap); a European certificate that guarantees insights into the origin
of the product, the way it was grown, the circumstances under which it was
grown, the way it was treated (fertilizers, pesticides), and how it was packaged,
etc. The platform will help Fruiléma enter new markets and should attract
new importers for their produce.
6. Video based approaches
The video based approach has several important advantages to traditional
forms of agricultural content, which is typically not in the local language,
intended for a literate audience, uses expert terminology, lacks grassroots
level practicalities, and remains inaccessible in a sea of scattered media.
Example: Digital Green is an agricultural training and advising system
in India that seeks to benefit rural farmers by disseminating targeted information
through digital videos. Digital Green aims to build a system that can scale
agricultural advising support to even the smallest subsistence farmer. Digital
Green bootstraps on the local expert knowledge of existing NGOs and farmers
by capturing and distributing the widest selection of content in the most
targeted, practically-oriented format videos.
If anyone can come up with other inspiring examples, please feel free!
The Global Summit about Mobile Technology for Social Impact - Johannesburg,
South Africa - http://www.mobileactive08.org/agenda
- October 13-15, 2008
Contact: Francois STEPMAN
E-mail: fstepman(a)fara-africa.org
Golf. vs sex
A golfer is in a very competitive match with a friend, who is leading by a
couple of strokes. "Boy, I'd give anything to sink this putt," the
golfer mumbles to himself.
Just then, a dark, sinister stranger walks up beside him and whispers:
"Would you be willing to give up one-fourth of your sex life to sink
the putt?"
Dismissing the man as crazy and that his answer will be meaningless, the golfer
good-naturedly decides to indulge in the stranger and replies "Sure thing"
... and to his great surprise, sinks the putt.
Two holes later, he mumbles to himself again: "Gee, I sure would like
to get an eagle on this one." The stranger appears at his side again
and whispers: "Would it be worth giving up another fourth of your sex
life?"
Shrugging, the golfer replies: "Okay."... and again, much to his
surprise, he makes an eagle.
On the final hole, the golfer needs yet another eagle to win.
Without waiting for him to say anything, the stranger quickly moves to his
side and says: "Would winning this match be worth giving up the rest
of your sex life?"
'Definitely,' the golfer replies... and he makes the eagle to win the match.
As the golfer is walking to the club house, the stranger walks alongside him
and says: "I haven't really been fair with you because you don't know
who I am. Well... I am the devil, and from this day forward you will have
no sex life"'
"Very nice to meet you sir" the golfer replies, shaking his hand,
"I'm Father O'Malley, parish priest of Ireland's Eye."
Contact: Mick HARKIN
E-mail: harkin(a)iol.ie
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