Paris,
20 September 2010
EFITA newsletter / 479 - European Federation for Information Technology in
Agriculture, Food and the Environment
To read this newsletter
on the efita.net web site...
See: http://www.efita.net?d=6802
5th ECPLF conference
11 - 14July 2011 – PRAGUE
This conference is co-organized with the 8th ECPA, the 8th EFITA conferences
as there is an established tradition of bringing ECPA and ECPLF together.
>>> Registration
> From 15th September 2010 will be possible to submit full paper.
> From 1st October 2010 will be possible to registration for the 5th ECPLF
Conference.
>>> The main topics are as follows:
- Sensor and sensing (e.g. image, sound,..) technology and data collection
- Modeling
- Management and decision support (from process to chain)
- Robotics and advanced process control
- PLF in socio, economic and ethical context
- Practical experiments in dairy, pigs, poultry, aquaculture, equine and grassland
>>> Important dates:
> Paper submission: 15th September - 31st October 2010
> Registrations: From 1st October 2010
See: http://www.ecplf2011.cz
Contact: Eva CERVENKOVA
E-mail: conference2011(a)czu.cz
AgriDrupal, a customization of Drupal achieved by FAO
See: http://aims.fao.org/community/group/agridrupal
More info at http://aims.fao.org/sites/default/files/AgriDrupal-info-sheet.pdf
You can download it at ftp://ext-ftp.fao.org/SD/Data/OEKCS/AgriDrupal/ver0.72
ICT Update: Irrigation
>>> If you would like to receive the ICT Update email edition,
please send a blank email to join-ictupdate-en@lists.cta.int
or visit the ICT Update web site at http://ictupdate.cta.int.
>>> Introduction
Figures from the FAO show that irrigation can increase crop yields by up to
400%. Developing a reliable system to water the land all year round gives
farmers the chance to plant crops in the dry season, and grow high-value crops
to increase profits and recoup investment costs. But with only a small percentage
of available farmland being irrigated in ACP countries, ICTs are now becoming
crucial to the promotion, development and maintenance of new irrigation systems.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/editorial/(issue)/56
>>> Perspectives
"The most important thing is to design systems - both irrigation and
information systems - that are best suited to the environment and the people
who will use them." Maimbo Mabanga Malesu, programme coordinator at the
World Agroforestry Centre.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/perspectives/(issue)/56
>>> Articles
> Managers of the Office du Niger irrigation scheme in Mali are using remote
sensing data to analyse the efficiency of the system without having to physically
check the infrastructure. The information will help them prepare for future
expansion.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/Remote-control
> Irrisat-SMS combines satellite data, information from local weather stations
and feedback from farmers to deliver daily, detailed irrigation scheduling
advice via SMS.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/A-balanced-delivery
> Tanzania´s Ministry of Water and Irrigation has developed an ICT strategy,
which includes using GIS, radio and cell phones, to deliver irrigation and
water services.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/A-plan-for-the-future
> A project in Swaziland uses remote sensing and GIS to identify irrigable
farmland. The data are analysed to improve the efficiency of project management
processes.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/Water-soil-and-data
> There are a wide range of resources available on the web to help agricultural
extension services, NGOs and cooperatives develop and maintain irrigation
schemes for small-scale farmers.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/techtip/(issue)/56
>>> Q&A
"Irrigation can greatly improve yields and guarantee crops. Farmers don´t
need to worry if there will be enough rainfall; they know their crops will
get enough water. It provides a kind of reassurance." Stanley Rampair,
chief executive officer of Jamaica´s National Irrigation Commission Limited.
See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/Q-A/(issue)/56
>>> Web resources
> Sakia.org
Sakia.org provides access to a vast range of irrigation-related resources
and services, including the email discussion list IRRIGATION-L, the Journal
of Applied Irrigation Science, the WWW Virtual Library on Irrigation, and
IRRISOFT, a Database on Irrigation & Hydrology Software.
See: http://www.sakia.org/
(...)
© Copyright 2010 Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU.
Email: ictupdate(a)cta.int
An English Lesson
For his 74th birthday, a man got a gift certificate.
The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation
who was rumored to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction.
After being persuaded, he drove to the reservation, handed his ticket to the
medicine man and wondered what was in store.
The old man slowly, methodically produced a potion, handed it to him, and
with a grip on his shoulder, warned, "This is powerful medicine and it
must be respected.
You take only a teaspoonful and then say ‘1-2-3’. ‘When you do that, you will
become more manly than you have ever been in your life and you can perform
as long as you want."
The man was encouraged. As he walks away, he turned and asked, "How do
I stop the medicine from working?" "Your partner must say '1-2-3-4,'
he responded. "But when she does, the medicine will not work again until
the next full moon."
He was very eager to see if it worked so he went home, showered, shaved, took
a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited his wife to join him in the bedroom.
When she came in, He took off his clothes and said, ‘1-2-3!’
Immediately, he was the manliest of men.
His wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes.
And then she asked, ‘What was the 1-2-3 for?’
And that, boys and girls, is why we should never end our sentences with a
preposition because we could end up with a dangling participle.
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