Paris, 26 July 2010


EFITA newsletter / 471 / European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


Seminar “What’s new, what’s next in dynamic system modeling in agronomy”
7 September - PARIS
English seminar organized by the French Network on Modeling Agricultural System
See: http://www.modelia.org
Register soon, places are limited. Preliminary program and inscription:
http://www.modelia.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=53
Contact: François BRUN
E-mail: francois.brun(a)acta.asso.fr


EFITA 2011
11-14 July 2011 - PRAGUE
This is the first call for the 8th EFITA conference that will be held from 11th to 14th July 2011 at the campus site of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, in a beautiful landlocked country in the heart of Europe, in the Czech Republic. This letter is to brief you on the most important organizational aspects of the forthcoming conference.
This conference is co-organized with the 8th ECPA, the 5th ECPLF conferences as there is an established tradition of bringing EFITA, ECPA and ECPLF together.
>>> The main topics are as follows:
- Food quality
- SDI for Agriculture and Food industry
- Sensor technologies
- Future trends
- ICT Adoption
- Knowledge Management
- e-business
- Standardisation and Interoperability
- Rural development
- Nature protection

>>> Important dates
Paper submission: 1st September - 31st October 2010
Registrations: From 1st September 2010
Please check our official website www.efita2011.cz for further information and full contact details. The website of the conference will be updated on a regular basis.
See: http://www.efita2011.cz/
Contact: Eva CERVENKOVA
E-mail: conference2011(a)czu.cz


The SEAMLESS Association. System for Environmental and Agricultural Modelling, Linking European Science and Society
The SEAMLESS Association can be seen as a continuation of the EU SEAMLESS project (See SEAMLESS in a nutshell), which developed an Integrated Framework for Integrated Assessments based on linkage of individual components (models, data, indicators) that enables analyses of the environmental, economic and social contributions of a multi-functional agriculture and the effects of a broad range of issues (e.g. climate change, new policies, innovation).
See: http://www.seamlessassociation.org/


FAO provides free access to statistics treasure trove
World's largest database of food, hunger and agricultural information now fully accessible online
Free access to FAO database contributes to sustainable development

9 July 2010, Rome - FAO is granting free and open access to its central data repository, FAOSTAT, the world's largest and most comprehensive statistical database on food, agriculture, and hunger, the UN agency announced today.

Previously, it was possible to download without charge a limited amount of information from FAOSTAT – which contains over one million data points covering 210 countries and territories -- but access to larger batches of statistics required a paid annual subscription.

>>> The power of numbers

 "We are now providing totally free access to this immense pool of data," said Hafez Ghanem, FAO Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development. "This information is an important tool in the fight to alleviate poverty, promote sustainable development and eliminate hunger. We're particularly keen on making sure that economists, planners, and policy-makers in the developing world, where that tool is needed most, can get at it and put it to good use."

Ghanem also noted that the move forms part of an ongoing FAO effort to provide easier and more direct access to its vast information assets, an initiative that came out of an independent external evaluation and strategic planning process initiated by FAO's Members in 2008.

"FAOSTAT is a powerful tool that can be used not just to see where hunger occurs, but to drill down and better understand why hunger occurs -- and what might be done to combat it," added Pietro Gennari, FAO Statistics Division Director. "It’s especially designed to support monitoring, analysis and informed, evidence-based policy-making specifically related to rural and agricultural development and hunger reduction, the only tool of its kind.”

In addition to aiding development planning, the information contained in FAOSTAT gives developing countries the intelligence they need in order to participate in and benefit from international trade in an effective and competitive manner. Donor countries can also use it to identify specific sectors where aid might be most effectively targeted.

>>> A reservoir of knowledge

FAOSTAT includes data on agricultural and food production, usage of fertilizers and pesticides, food aid shipments, food balance sheets, forestry and fisheries production, irrigation and water use, land use, population trends, trade in agricultural products, the use of agricultural machinery, and more.

FAOSTAT can be consulted using English, French or Spanish and allows users to select and organize the statistical information into tables and charts according to their needs and to download it in Excel format. The original statistic data is supplied by individual countries and regional development organizations in standardized formats. Records go back to 1961, the dawn of the Green Revolution.

This reservoir of knowledge is already being used by economists, planners and national development authorities, donor agencies, international aid organizations, other UN agencies, NGOs, academic researchers, investors – and farmers.

Current subscribers who will now have free access to FAOSTAT include international news agencies, development institutions, universities, government ministries and international organizations.
See: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/43724/icode/


Se_ual difficulties
A married Jewish couple were in the throes of se_ual difficulties - no matter what the husband did in bed, his wife never achieved an org_sm. Since a Jewish wife is entitled to se_ual pleasure, they decide to consult their Rabbi.

The Rabbi listens to their story, strokes his beard, and makes the following suggestion: 'Hire a virile young man. While the two of you are making love, have the young man wave a towel over you. That will help your wife fantasize and should bring on an org_sm.'

The couple goes home and follows the Rabbi's advice. They employ a handsome young man and he waves a towel over them as they make love. Alas, the procedure is a total failure and the wife remains unhappy and unsatisfied.

Perplexed, they go back to the Rabbi and he listens attentively to their experience. 'Okay,' he says to the husband, 'Try it in reverse... get the young man to make love to your wife and YOU wave the towel over them.'

Once again, they follow the Rabbi's advice. They go home and employ the same strapping young man. The young man gets into bed with the wife and the husband waves the towel. The young man gets to work with great enthusiasm and very soon she has an enormous, ear-splitting, room-shaking, org_sm. The husband smiles, looks at the young man and says to him triumphantly,

‘'See that, you schmuck? THAT'S how you wave a towel!!!’’

Contact: Mick HARKIN
E-amil: harkin(a)iol.ie


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