TAA's Mission is: "Advancing education, research and practice in agriculture for rural livelihoods and sustainable development. In pursuit of this mission, we award honours annually to people who have made significant contributions to the improvement of rural livelihoods in developing countries through sustainable agricultural development. We now invite nominations for each category of award, please see our website for details of categories, who is eligible and how to nominate. 

The September 2013 ssue of Farming Matters will focus on the role of education in changing the mindsets of rural communities. We seek contributions that describe innovative education in rural areas. Who are involved? What is being taught? What teaching methods are used? What lessons are learned? And what makes these experiences valuable? We will also look at how educators prepare themselves for their job in a fast changing world, what their aspirations are, how the education system supports and how they connect with different stakeholders in the agricultural system, such as farmers and other value chain actors, fellow educators, researchers and policy makers.

Please send us your contributions to Jorge Chavez-Tafur, editor, before June 1st, 2013. 

A Kenyan agriculture graduate in Kangari, Kenya, is seeking advice and support from members for his new large-scale broiler poultry enterprise. He particularly seeks advice on breeds suitable to the region, weather conditions, disease resistance and poultry policies (marketing, feeding materials, taxation). If anyone can offer advice, please email John Macharia. 

15.4.13

The French soil science journal (Etude et Gestion des Sols) is now entirely available free of charge on the web, click here. There is no charge for publication or handling of the papers. Papers must be submitted in French, with an abstract in English. Captions to tables and figures must be provided both in French and English. Papers are released on the web as soon as they are accepted and edited. A Spanish translation of the abstract is offered for free by the editorial board. Please submit your papers to Dominique Arrouays 

Sustainable Table: What's On Your Plate? Worth an hour to watch this film (pity about the short intervening adverts). The focus is on 'organic' farming: why did they miss the next step of conservation agriculture and save the soil too? Bhutan has recently become the first country to be 'organic'.

Over nine months, director Mischa Hedges and his crew traveled the west coast of USA to learn more about our food system. While interviewing farmers, agricultural experts, nutritionists and activists, Mischa and his team learned that the standard methods of producing food do not take environmental or human health costs into consideration.

eSci Journal of Crop Production is a peer-reviewed, open access journal publishes original research articles, short communications, research notes reporting experimental and theoretical contributions to crop science in the field of crop production. Click for details. Submit your articles to EJCP@escijournals.net or click here to submit your manuscript.

4.1.13

Two documentaries on Conservation Agriculture from Lebanon, which were accomplished with farmers and researchers: CA in Lebanon ; CA in Orchards Systems in Lebanon. Click on the Youtube "Captions button and select "English: CA in Lebanon to display English subtitles.

TAA member Thomas Cochrane writes to introduce this book, which he initiated during studies as a member of the British Tropical Agricultural Mission to Bolivia in the 1960s, and has subsequently added to and updated over the years. Now available in both English and Spanish versions. The book is primarily about the Amazon region but it has an extensive series of appendices which would be of interest to most agronomists and soil scientists working in under-developed countries. Editors: Thomas T. Cochrane and Thomas A. Cochrane, University of Canterbury, UC Design, Publisher: Amazon.com, ISBN 10: 1452866376, Published: 2011, Pages: 190. Cost: $49. Additional information on "AGTECA" web-site  or from Thomas (Director, Agrotecnologica Amazonica).

22.11.12

The machines reportedly can produce 100 kg of grass by using 14 kg of seeds put into it. They can produce fodder in a matter of weeks. The technology has been tested and used successfully in  Haryana and Gujarat. The fodder produced by the machines was not different from fodder grown on fields. Since there was no soil involved in the cultivation process, cattle could even feed on the roots. In arid lands dependent on rainfall,  such machines could be of great help to farmers, especially during dry days. Click here for more details

16.11.12

FAO is preparing a Global Agenda of Action, through a participatory process which focuses on consensus building among key stakeholders in the livestock sector, for a subsequent operational phase. Initially, a Global Agenda of Action will focus on the improvement of resource-use efficiency in the livestock sector to support livelihoods, long-term food security and economic growth while safeguarding other environmental and public health outcomes. For more details, email or check the website    20.10.12

Argentina is a country that has gone through similar drought situations as the US, and today, more than 80% of its arable area is under no-till farming systems. Roberto A. Peiretti, Argentina No-Till Farmers' Association, offers a paper that illustrates how No Till Improves Soil Functioning and Water Economy and a PowerPoint on No-Till's role in increasing Productivity, Profit and Sustainability [Amir Kassam, FAO, reports]

You may be interested to know that a TAA member has recently established a global network of the major research funders on animal diseases, which involves partners from the Americas, Asia, Australasia, Africa (just AU-IBAR so far) and Europe. Global Strategic Alliances for the Coordination of Research on the Major Infectious Diseases of Animals and Zoonoses. Read more 

"CGIAR will speak with one voice". That's the first tenet of the revised CGIAR Branding Guidelines and Toolkit released recently. There's a new tagline "Science for a food secure future". The acronym CGIAR has morphed into a name and is no longer to be spelled out or used with the definite article. The guidelines and toolkit are being rolled out by individual centres and programmes. 

GFAR reports on the revised set of skills needed by young graduates to address new challenges in agriculture. The Young Professionals Platform in Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD) has contributed to the debate on change in formal higher agricultural education with the study "Working towards a new generation of Young Professionals in ARD.  This study focused on tertiary level education, asking young professionals to identify those competencies that they were not adequately provided adequately during their education.  This differs from previous studies, by focusing on the perspective of young professionals themselves.

Interested TAA members can join the Agribusiness Group simply by contacting Jim Turnbull (agribusiness@taa.org.uk). Membership of the Agribusiness Group gives TAA members access to British Expertise services and events. This will be of particular value to younger TAA members who are in active employment. So, what is British Expertise and what services does it offer? British Expertise is a trade association for British consultancy and professional services companies wishing to develop their businesses internationally. It is multi-sectoral, but a large number of members have interests in the agriculture and rural development fields. Read more

Empowering women in agriculture: rethinking agricultural needs and actions through the eyes of women. GFAR reports on Global Conference on Women in Agriculture, held in Delhi, March 2012 with 760 participants from 50 countries. For the summary: GFAR_e-news_empowering_women_in_agriculture.pdf

Now loaded: 29^th Annual Ralph Melville Memorial Lecture delivered at the Annual General Meeting Held at the Royal Overseas League on 23^rd November 2011 Agriculture and eradicating poverty: towards a new approach, Dr Andrew Shepherd, ODI. Click to read