Paris, 1 November 2010


EFITA newsletter / 485 - 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=6809


Retirement (1)
I am not sure if you are going to keep going with the newsletter but I find it really useful and enjoy the jokes – even the ones we are suppose to be more politically correct about!
Happy retirement – I am sure like most, I wonder where you found time to work. Cheers,
Contact: Emma LEONARD - South Australia
E-mail: emma.leonard(a)bigpond.com


Retirement (2)
I got to know that you are going to be retired - lucky you. I wish you all the best for the upcoming time, enjoy the new freedom you get and enjoy your music.
All the best to you. Yours sincerely,
Contact : Prof. Dr. Peter WAGNER - Germany
E-mail: peter.wagner(a)landw.uni-halle.de


Retirement (3)
I didn't know you were retiring. Thanks for your support during this time. Enjoy your retirement and you are welcome to visit us in Romania. My best regards,
Contact: Gabriela TEODORESCU, Professor PhD, Valahia University of Targoviste - Rumania
E-mail: heo_0200(a)yahoo.com


GeoFARMatics 2010 International Conference (do not miss it!)
24-26 November 2010 - COLOGNE, Germany

>>> Last chance to submit abstracts: late submissions deadline – 5 November 2010
Submit abstracts now at: http://www.geofarmatics2010.org/submitting.html

>>> Registration: Plan your attendance today!
Sign up to the GeoFARMatics 2010 conference today and don’t forget to book your hotel this week as the quota for the hotels will expire very soon (See: accommodation). After this expiration, the special regulations for the hotels will not be available anymore! Have a look on the website for an overview of the scientific programme, and details of the social program.  If you think your opinion matters, join in and discuss with leading experts in the fields of subject. Don’t hesitate, as the entrance fee is low and the gains are high!

>>> Join in for GeoFARMatics 2010
The joint conference for Geo-Information, Farming Informatics Management and Agribusiness, schedules about 40 technical presentations and keynotes presented by prominent and internationally renowned speakers and promises to bring an interesting combination of geo-information and agricultural topics. To enable inclusion of the most relevant and latest subjects in the final programme, late submissions will be accepted until Friday November 5th.

Furthermore developers in ICT for agriculture, scientists and companies are invited to present interesting research, projects or products within the 'Pecha Kucha' presentation series or through a poster. Please submit any outstanding abstracts via the online submission system (4 pages max.). Speakers of regular and Pecha Kucha talks will be selected by the scientific committee and will be informed on the base of their papers before November 12th 2010. The scientific programme features sessions covering the following main themes of the conference programme for which submissions are invited: 

- Farm Management Information Systems
- Designing international standards for information exchange in agribusiness
- Standardisation and Interoperability
- Providing standards through Web Services
- Trends in Geo-Information for farmers and administration
- Trends for ICT in agribusiness
- Emerging technologies in Ag-Software
- Emerging technologies in on-farm geo-information applications and software

The EU-funded projects FutureFarm (www.futurefarm.eu) and agriXchange (www.agrixchange.eu) as well as the CAPIGI-network (www.capigi.eu) organise a joint conference from 24^th until 26^th November 2010 in Cologne (Germany). This public conference provides a unique opportunity to discuss the emerging ICT and geo-information business in agriculture.
See: http://www.geofarmatics2010.org/
Contact: Guy WAKSMAN
E-mail: waksman(a)acta.asso.fr


Spatial Statistics 2011
23 - 25 March 2011 - University of Twente, ENSCHEDE, The Netherlands
The Spatial Statistics 2011 conference focuses on the role that spatial and spatio-temporal statistics play in mapping global change. The goal is to bring together experts and interested people from academia, research institutes, and industry. The main conference themes are:
- Mapping global change
- Spatial and spatio-temporal statistical methodology
- Environmental issues
- Ecological and habitat changes
- Health and epidemiology
- Economy and energy
- Image use and analysis
- Developing countries
See: http://www.spatialstatisticsconference.com


5th ECPLF conference
11 - 14 July – 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.
The deadline for submitting the full paper is till 30th November 2010 with no exception.
This conference has no limit for length of full paper. In case, recommended length for full paper is above 8 pages.
See: http://www.ecplf2011.cz
Contact: Eva CERVENKOVA
E-mail: conference2011(a)czu.cz


International competition for agricultural production land is rising dramatically
“The last ten years alone have seen net EU imports from virtual agricultural land increase by10 million hectares”. The EU ranks as the world's biggest net importer of agricultural produce while neglecting critical investment in agricultural research

The food situation in poor countries continues to deteriorate. On World Food Day, October 16th, the number of starving people worldwide will have reached a staggering 925 million.

"Even assuming the very best possible scenario, the poorest nations will fail by a wide margin to produce enough food to feed their own populations over the coming decades," says Harald von Witzke, President of the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture. "This rapidly growing shortfall can only be met if richer nations are able to produce and export more food. So far, the EU has turned a blind eye to this looming crisis. Despite the urgent need for immediate action, this important issue has received little or no publicity."

Von Witzke believes that the EU has neglected critical investment in agricultural research for far too long. In the meantime, it has become the world's biggest net importer of agricultural produce. This means that in order to meet its own demand for food, natural fibres, bio-energy and other agricultural products, the EU uses a virtual land area in other countries of about 35 million hectares, equivalent to the size of Germany. The last ten years alone have seen net EU imports from virtual agricultural land increase by10 million hectares.

"The EU has become a huge virtual land-user outside of its own territory," says von Witzke. He points out that this expansion of land by the EU overseas is leading to deforestation and contributing to climate change "We must collectively demand that the EU fully commits to innovation and high productivity in agriculture. This is vital if we are to eradicate hunger, make a stand against climate change, and maintain natural habitats."

The Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture is a leading Berlin-based think tank in global agriculture, bringing together a unique group of internationally recognised experts from science, civil society and industry. Its goal is to develop scientific-based policy recommendations for the future of global food and agriculture.
See: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/critical-investment-agricultural-research,1500230.html


Holy Moses
A guy goes on vacation to the Holy Land with his wife and mother-in-law. The mother-in-law dies.

They go to an undertaker who explains that they can ship the body home but that it'll cost over $5000, whereas they can bury her in the Holy Land for only $150.

The guy thinks for a moment and says, "We'll ship her home."

The undertaker asks, "Are you sure? That's an awfully big expense and we can do a very nice burial here."

The guy says, "Look, 2000 years ago they buried a guy here and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

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


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