Châtenay-Malabry (FR - 92290), 12 March 2012


EFITA newsletter / 556 - European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


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Contact: Guy WAKSMAN
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BioEnergy Italy
15 - 17 March 2012 - CREMONA
130 exhibitors from many European countries - German technology strongly represented once again - Comprehensive technical program.
See: http://www.dlg.org/news_agriculture.html?detail/dlg.org/1/2/5149


JRC/IRI meeting on Index-based insurance for food security in developing countries
2 - 3 May – ISPRA (Italy)
The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC/EC: http://mars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/mars/About-us/The-MARS-Unit, FoodSec Action) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI, http://portal.iri.columbia.edu/portal/server.pt) are jointly organising this technical meeting on:

The challenges of index-based insurance for food security in developing countries

The meeting is based on the perception that indices are a pivotal component in index-based crop insurance systems, because of (i) the technical difficulties on achieving good relationship with losses, and consequently on mitigating the basis risk, (ii) the existing trade-off between sophistication and transparency of the methods and (iii) the data sources, availability and reliability that constrain the development and operational use of the indices.

See: ftp://mars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
index-insurance-meeting/index-insurance-meeting_jrc-iri_20110502-03_V01.pdf
Contact: R. GOMMES
E-mail: rene.gommes(a)jrc.ec.europa.eu


Smart AgriMatics 2012
13 - 14 June 2012 - PARIS
See: http://www.smartagrimatics.eu
See: http://agrixchange.eu/project/agrixchange-3rd-workshop-tentative-dates-13-14-june-2012


Bio mit Gesicht GmbH, Germany
“Bio mit Gesicht” (Giving organic a face) is a quality initiative of different certification organisations for organic farming and of grocery retailers in collaboration with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). “Bio mit Gesicht” is aimed at expanding quality-orientated organic agriculture and at making it experienceable. Themed “Giving organic products a face: see where they come from”, “Bio mit Gesicht” makes the origin of organic products, the production and processing transparent in the internet. “Bio mit Gesicht” products are labelled with a “bio-mit-gesicht-code” and a reference to the website www-bio-mit-gesicht.de. If the code is typed in the input field at the start page, one accesses a portrait of the farm where the product originates from or where it was processed, and thus can get to know the farm on a virtual trip.
See: http://www.bio-mit-gesicht.de
Contact: Otto SCHMIDT
E-mail: otto.schmid(a)fibl.ch


Smarter Food: Technology is shaping how it grows, how it tastes and how it gets to your plate
>>> Food technology with a healthy appetite for innovation
Food Technology Food is as fundamental as it gets. And our relationship with it has changed with every year. Just ten years ago, most consumers were focused on eating a diet low in fat. Biotechnology was extremely limited in its application and considered somewhat dangerous. And few people knew what organic meant or why it mattered.

Today, the picture is one of heightened challenges. Food prices are soaring. Shortages have sparked unrest the world over. The threat of salmonella poisoning prompts the recall of millions of U.S. eggs. And every year, ten million people die of hunger and hunger-related diseases. At the same time, consumers are hungrier than ever for information about their food. They are better informed about nutrition and more aware of the environmental and societal impacts of everything they buy. In fact, according to an IBM Institute for Business Value survey, two of every five U.S. and U.K. consumers say safety concerns dictate what food they will—and won't—purchase.

>>> So what does IBM have to do with food? Food technology
When Cyclone Nargis struck in May 2008, the people of Myanmar lost an estimated one third of their rice supply. Investigators in the United States were baffled by a mysterious salmonella outbreak that infected more than 1,300 people and cost tomato growers more than $100 million. These events illustrate the vulnerability of the food supply chain as well as the fragility of food supplies in general.

With innovative digital technology and powerful solutions, IBM is making sure food is traced properly as it passes though an increasingly complex global supply chain. IBM is also making that food heartier through biological research.

The future of food starts today…
See: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/food_technology/ideas/
Info provided by Sjaak WOLFERT
E-mail: sjaak.wolfert(a)wur.nl


(An) Inventory of long and short term future needs of food chain users for future functions of internet
See: http://www.smartagrifood.eu/node/132


The current plight of the Costa Concordia reminds me of a comment made by Churchill...

After his retirement Winston Churchill was cruising the Mediterranean on an Italian cruise liner…

Some Italian journalists asked why an ex British Prime Minister should chose an Italian ship.

“There are three things I like about being on an Italian cruise ship” said Churchill.

“First, their cuisine is unsurpassed."

"Second, their service is superb."

"And then, in time of emergency, there is none of this nonsense about women and children first”.


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