CIGR Newsletter No 54

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NEWS FROM THE PRESIDIUM

XVth CIGR World Congress - CIGR/ASAE Joint Congress

July 29 - August 1, 2002, Chicago, USA

Message from CIGR President to CIGR Section Chairs

To:

Prof. L. Pereira (Section 1), Ir. J.A.M Voermans (Section 2), Prof. E.Bourarach (Section 3), Prof. A. Ramdani (Section 4), Prof. T. Luoma (Section 5), Prof. M.Ruiz- Altisent (Section 6) and Prof. N. Sigrimis (Section 7)

Dear Section Chairs,

Regarding the preparation of the scientific program of the joint CIGR/ASAE International Congress in July 2002, CIGR and ASAE have agreed that in early April 2001 CIGR will send ASAE the two following items based on proposals from the seven technical sections of CIGR:

CIGR Past President Bill Stout has written to you about this second item just before the CIGR World Congress in Tsukuba. These items shall be collected by the CIGR General Secretariat and forwarded to ASAE.

In order to send this information to ASAE well before the ASAE Annual Meeting in Sacramento next July, may I ask each of you to send me the proposals made by your respective sections as soon as possible and not later than March 20, 2001. The proposals will then be submitted by ASAE to its Technical Committee Chairs, who will finalize the list of topics and sessions of the congress during their meetings in Sacramento.

Thank you for your collaboration.

Best regards,

EL Houssine BARTALI

CIGR President 2001-2002

Status of the CIGR Ejournal

Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Journal of Scientific Research and Development, a new peer reviewed electronic journal, was initiated in 1999. The following technical articles and invited papers have been published to date. It is interesting to note that the published articles come from 17 countries and FAO. There is no charge to access this journal or to publish papers in it. Check the website at www.agen.tamu.edu/cigr/. Send manuscripts to stout@tamu.edu

The current Editor-in-Chief is Dr. Rosana Moreira, and Past CIGR President, Dr. Bill Stout, serves as Coordinator of the Ejournal. They welcome high quality manuscripts from everyone. Check the website for "Submission Instructions".

Thanks to New Holland for their financial support of the Ejournal and to all authors and colleagues who have served as volunteer reviewers. If you have questions or comments, please send them to stout@tamu.edu

VOLUME I, 1999

Technical Articles:

1.) Q. Liu and F. W. Bakker Arkema (USA). Capacity estimation of High - Temperature Grain Dryers - A Simplified Calculation Method.

2.) T.A.Gemtos (Greece). Sugar Beet Root Properties in Relation to Harvesting Damage.

3.) Da-Wen Sun (Ireland). Comparison and Selection of EMC/ERH Isotherm Equations for Drying and Storage of Grain and Oil Seeds.

4.) S. Oshita, Y. Seo, and Y. Kawagoe (Japan). Relaxation Time of Protons in Intracellular Water of Broccoli.

5.) R. Ayala, A. Becerra, L.F. Iribarne, A. Bosch, and J.R. Diaz (Spain). GIS Systems as a Decision Support Tool for Agricultural Planning in Arid Zones of Spain.

6.) L. De Cock & D. Van Lierde (Belgium). Monitoring Energy Consumption in Belgian Glasshouse Horticulture.

7.) Tu Tu Tran, G.S. Srzednicki and R.H. Driscoll (Australia). Effects of Aeration on the Quality of Popcorn.

Invited Articles:

1.) D. Pimentel, M. Pimentel & M. Karpenstein-Machan(USA). Energy Use in Agriculture: An Overview.

2.) N. Sigrimis, Y. Hashimoto, A. Munack, and J. De Baerdemaeker (Greece, Japan, Germany, Belgium). Prospects in Agricultural Engineering in the Information Age: Technological Developments for the Producer and the Consumer.

VOLUME II, 2000

Technical Articles:

1.) J. Montero, J.M. Tarjuelo, and J. F. Ortega (Spain). Heterogeneity Analysis of the Irrigation in Fields with Medium Size Sprinklers.

2.) J. F. Ortega, J.M. Tarjuelo, J. Montero, and J.A. de Juan (Spain). Discharge Efficiency in Sprinkling Irrigation: Analysis of the Evaporation and Drift Losses in Semi-arid Areas.

3.) Z. Bohuslavek (Czech Republic). Estimation of EUROP?Conformation and Fatness of Beef Carcasses by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

4.) J. Blahovec, A.A.S. Esmir, and J. Vacek (Czech Republic). Objective Method for Determination of Potato Cooking.

5.) M. Hauhouot-O'hara, B.R. Criner, G.H. Brusewitz, and J. B. Solie (USA, Senegal). Selected Physical Characteristics and Aerodynamic Properties of Cheat Seed for Separation from Wheat.

6.) C. Valero and M. Ruiz-Altisent (Spain). Design Guidelines for a Quality Assessment System in Fruit Centers and Hypermarkets. Vol. II, August, 2000.

7.) S. Oztekin and Y. Soysal (Turkey). Comparison of Adsorption and Desorption Isoteric Heats for Some Grains.

8.) J. Radon and W. Bieda (Poland). Optimisation of Hybrid Wall for Solar Utilisation in Agriculture.

9.) C. F. Jaarsma (Netherlands). Sustainable Land Use Planning and Planning of Rural Road Networks.

10.) D. Wojcicka-Migasiuk and A. Chochowski (Poland). Simulation Model for Solar Water Heating for Food Processing.

Invited Articles:

1.) L.J. Clarke (FAO). Strategies for Agricultural Mechanization Development: The Roles of the Private Sector and the Government.

2.) D. Strebkov (Russia). Trends in Russian Agriculture and Rural Energy.

3.) Z.A. Henry, J.E. Dixon, P.K. Turnquist, J.L. Schinstock (USA). Status of Agricultural Engineering Educational Programs in the USA.

4.) G. Singh (Thailand). Agricultural Engineering Education in India.

VOLUME III, 2001 (Please note that you must use Adobe Acrobat 4.0 to read papers in Volume III)

Technical Articles:

1.) P. Bruscoli, E. Bresci and F. Preti (Italy). Diagnostic Analysis of an Irrigation System in the Andes Region.

2.) T. Fischer, M. Gaderer, P. Lamp, W. Schoelkopf, and R. Ziegler (Germany). Processes and Economics for Energetic Use of Cotton Plant Residues.

3.) B. G. Kakou, H. Shimizu and S. Nishimura (Japan). Residual Strength of Colluvium and Stability Analysis of Farmland slope.

Invited Articles :

1.) A-L. Raoult-Wack and N. Bricas (France). Food Sector Development: Multifunctionality and Ethics.

2.) I. Naas (Brazil). Precision Animal Production.

3.) W. Chancellor (USA). Synergistic Cooperation in the Food System.

Bill A. Stout

Past CIGR President and

Coordinator of the CIGR Ejournal

NEWS FROM REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SOCIETIES

Guidelines for the Technology Transfer in the Developing Countries

1. Manifold and diverse are the patterns of collaboration between industrialised countries (I.C.) and developing ones (D.C.), which are based on technology transfer within the agricultural sector, including tractors and equipment. The choice of one of these patterns depends on the evaluation of the involved countries and companies, which have to select the transfer modality that is most appropriate for the particular condition of the concerned D.C. Eight to ten different solutions are available: from simple technical collaboration aimed at the internal market of the country, and from increasing levels of technical assistance, up to full-fledged joint-ventures, which would mean a long lasting technical and financial involvement of the supplying enterprises.

Broadly speaking, the simple types of co-operation particularly concern small to medium sized enterprises, and in most cases the simple technologies only need to match the requirements of the local market. However, a joint-venture implies a comprehensive transfer of technological know-how from the I.C., including high level, sophisticated equipment. Beyond that, the will to contribute financially and a rigid, technical control of the local production in the D.C., which should be capable to meet the requirements of the domestic and the international market, are essential.

2. The success of these different forms of co-operation depends on:

  1. The establishment of a good relationship between the concerned parties and their reliability.
  2. The careful evaluation of all external factors in both industrialised and developing countries.

From a broad view-point, even the simplest forms of co-operation would necessarily call for:

All this requires the employment of local trained people, possibly supported methodically by the I.C. In addition a responsible person (or a group) within the D.C. with a long vision and some resources is to be identified, too.

Dealing with more sophisticated patterns of financial participation and joint-ventures, an accurate evaluation of the external conditions is required, with particular reference to:

a) Institutional and economic aspects such as political stability, industrial development policies and investment promotion initiatives, intellectual property protection measures, availability of credit facilities, and financial condition;

b) Social aspects including level of education of management and production staff, after-sale service technicians, final users and farmers;

c) Organisational aspects such as the presence of: MIRDC (metalworking industry R & D centres), extension and after-sale services, repair and maintenance facilities and their distribution over the territory, testing and certification centres AMRTC for agricultural machinery.

Prior to any collaboration, it is necessary to carry out an in-depth analysis of these external conditions.

3. Institutional and economic constraints As joint-ventures usually have a long duration, especially for the I.C. it is indispensable to look at the legislative framework which will affect the collaboration, particularly as it concerns:

a) existing forms of financial support in the D.C. (granting of tax relief, their duration, maximum amount);

b) financial support, as well as insurance guarantees against political risks in the D.C.;

c) existing legislation on the intellectual properties and patents.

4. Educational constraints ?The achievement of the main economic goal also depends on the educational level of the staff, particularly as it refers to: production, after-sale technical assistance and characteristics of the buyers.

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In fact, the success of the enterprise very much depends on the compatibility and seriousness of the staff directly involved. At the manufacturing level the problem concerns the technical, administrative, commercial and financial staff as well as workers, both skilled and unskilled.

The same applies to the personnel in charge of after-sale and technical assistance services. The lack of well trained employees at various levels may cause unexpected and insurmountable difficulties that, consequently, may lead to the failure of the whole project. In any case, it is necessary to offer assistance for improving the technical capability of the staff, such as using and maintaining machinery and equipment.

5. Organisational constraints These possible constraints mostly concern the assessment of allied facilities in place, both down and up-stream of production, but tightly linked to it. That means that it is essential to ensure the presence and the effectiveness of research and development centres in the metallurgical and mechanical sector (MIRDC), which will provide technical consulting services to enterprises as it refers to the utilisation of locally available materials, design and manufacturing of machines and relevant components. Such centres frequently exist in various countries, but sometimes their impact is very ineffective compared to real productive needs. Should adequate centres be unavailable, the input of the I.C. needs to be characterised by the highest possible degree of assistance.

The same applies to the agricultural machinery research and testing centres (AMRTC) that are entrusted with the identification of the technology most appropriate for the needs of the country and, once implemented, with the assessment of its suitability from both the technical-managerial and the economic point of view.

The results can then be utilised to establish extensive demonstration events and field trials in co-operation with the local manufacturer.

The lack of such institutions (usually state-owned and often linked to existing technical high schools or universities) means a considerable drawback. In fact, as there is no quality assurance for the marketable products, farmers may not have access to easy-term credits and loans. In addition without an extension services network there is no vulgarisation.

Consequently, the I.C. company has to compensate for these lacks with higher financial input and a more articulated organisational pattern, even if it is in most cases not able to send its best experts to the D.C. for a long time. For that reason, top consulting personalities are often required for certain areas. In these cases a special financial support from I.C. Governments could ensure the success of the initiative.

6. Last but not least, for the territory in question it is necessary to verify the presence of after-sale services and, in particular, a machinery repair and maintenance network. The low level of mechanisation, which is typical for a D.C., calls for the presence of such structures as a key for the success of the enterprise. To this end, not only it is necessary to foster an agreement between the local industry and small local workshops, but also to train their staff, providing the right equipment for the job. The equipment should include one or more mobile workshops to enable the technicians to provide assistance on the spot in case of urgent requests. The number of these stationary workshops and their location should match the number of farms in a specific area. Generally speaking it has proved necessary to have one of them every 40-50 km2. Obviously, the production success depends on this type of organisation, which is a burden for the new enterprises and has to be carefully assessed prior to any sort of commitment.

A. Pagani, M.Fiala, G.Pellizzi

CLUB OF BOLOGNA

club.bo@unimi.it







Report on the 29th International Symposium "Actual Tasks on Agricultural Engineering"

06-09 February 2001, Opatija, Republic of Croatia

The 29th International Symposium "Actual Tasks on Agricultural Engineering" was held from 06-09 of February 2001 in Opatija, Republic of Croatia. Main organizer was the Agricultural Engineering Department of the Faculty of Agronomy, University of Zagreb. Co-organizers were the Faculty of Agronomy, University of Osijek (Croatia), the Faculty of Agronomy, University of Maribor (Slovenia), the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, the Croatian Society of Agronomists, the Croatian Agricultural Engineering Society and the Croatian Agricultural Extension Institute. Co-sponsors were CIGR, EurAgEng and AAAE.

In his keynote lecture Prof. Daniele De Wrachien emphasized the present and particularly the future importance of sustainable use and development of surface and ground water resources. Showing and briefly describing up-to-date techniques suitable for solving multipurpose and multiobjective issues related to sustainable management and development of water resources, Prof. De Wrachien promoted the creation of a worldwide framework that will deal with the improvement of management and development of water resources for the benefit of the community and agriculture as well.

Dr. Hesse promoted weighing as a new function of tractor's EHR system, while two papers of Slovenian authors, M.Sc. Sket and Stern, showed new methods that deal with safety when working with agricultural and forest machines. Dr. Demmel from the Technical University of Munich presented results of very interesting techniques for seeding winter wheat during sugar beet harvesting, and Prof. Ros from Romania discussed a mathematical approach to energy reduction of powered soil tillage implements.

The world's famous agricultural machinery producers such as AGCO, Case - New Holland, Claas, Deutz-Fahr, Hardi, John Deere, Kverneland, Vogel & Noot and others presented their current programmes via video tapes and oral presentations during the afternoon sessions.

The Symposium was attended by 149 participants from 13 countries of 4 continents, and 37 papers were presented in the plenary sessions or as posters.

During the Meeting an open debate on "Mechanization of livestock production–foundation of succeswsful agriculture", led by Prof. Culjat, attracted 102 attendants. This Symposium is traditionally held every year during the first week of February, and information for the one in 2002 iwill be soon available at http://www.agr.hr/aed

>>

Daniele De Wrachien,

Vice President of EurAgEng

Silvio Kosutic,

Chairman of the International Scientific Committee

NEWS FROM SECTIONS AND WORKING GROUPS

CIGR Section VII, Information Systems, Board Meeting, Nov 28, 2000, Tsukuba University

Introduction of board members and others attending: Board members: Roger Martin-Clouaire (France), Kenji Omasa (Japan), Kamil Sindir (Turkey), Nick Sigrimis (Greece) and Richard Hegg (USA). Others attending: Axel Munack, S. Ninomiya (Japan), Y. Hashimoto (Japan) and Richard Gates (USA). Discussion on additions and deletions from the board, Jos Baerdermaeker (Belgium) will replace Daniel Berckmans (Belgium), John Reid (USA) and Haruhiko Murase (Japan) were added. Yasushi Hashimoto (Japan) will be honorary chairman of the Section.

Brief history of the Section (Working Group 18)

Report on the meeting (Nov 27) with Technical Board: Richard Hegg reported that the CIGR Technical Board accepted the work plan and the report submitted by Section VII. The other section chairman at the Nov 27 meeting asked questions and were assured that Section VII would coordinate and cooperate with their Sections regarding Information Systems matters.

Section VII report was reviewed, specifically the work plan. (This report had previously been emailed to the Section VII board members.)

Nick Sigrimis, the Chairman, will initiate communications among the Section VII board members and others designated as "contributing members" which consists of approximately 20 persons.

Richard Hegg will promote interactions with the other CIGR Sections, and he will request that a contact person from each of the other sections be identified. This contact person will be on the regular mailing list from Section VII and will be asked to communicate information from Section VII to their section and vice versa. It was recommended for the next CIGR Congress not to hold the Section VII board meeting at the same time as the other Section board meetings, so that the contact persons from these other boards could meet with the Section VII board.

Discussion was held on co-sponsoring several technical sessions at the joint CIGR and ASAE meeting scheduled for July 2002 in Chicago, IL. There was no decision made as to the exact topic/themes that should be submitted. Richard Gates (USA) will help facilitate getting the suggested topics/themes to the program committee of ASAE. These topics need to be submitted to ASAE in early Spring 2001 so that they can be considered prior to the ASAE meeting in Sacramento, CA in July 2001.

Nick Sigrimis will lead the effort to explore the possibility of a coalition of IS and IT international organizations (EFITA, AFITA, IFAC, SEASEA, ASAE, EurAgEng, etc.) He will also address co-sponsorship of conferences with other organizations. The recommendation was that the International Conference of Computers in Agriculture (Fedro Zazueta (USA) be added to the list of delegates from other IS/IT organizations which Section VII should maintain contact with.

Discussion was held on the possibility of a "World Event" on IS/IT. There was discussion on the need for a World Federation of IT organizations and what should be the role of Section VII. No action was taken as a result of this discussion.

Discussion was held on the need for establishing Working Groups within Section VII. It was suggested that Section VII operate for a period before starting any Working Groups. No action was taken.

Discussion was held on the need for IT standards in Agriculture. It was suggested that development of standards is a major task and may be beyond the current scope of the CIGR Sections. Standards development is a multi-year, time consuming task. It was pointed out that if there is a new development in Information Systems that it widely adopted it becomes a de-facto standard automatically. It was suggested that Section VII should be in a position to inform agricultural engineering about IT standards that exist and not develop standards.

Richard Hegg reviewed the structure and operation of the Section from CIGR statutes, "about half the section board members are elected every two years so that the continuity of section activities is secured", "Members can be reelected for a second four year period", "the chairman cannot be reelected in the same position", "propose members based on maximum geographical representation", 8-13 board members.

The following item was not part of the regular board meeting but should be informative to those who read the minutes. Informal discussion was held the following day, Nov 28, regarding the possibility of adding a Section VII, Information Systems web page into the CIGR web page. Some possible menu items for a web page could include: a) board members, b) cooperating members, c) contacts with other organizations, d) contacts with the other CIGR sections, e) Section VII report that includes mission, scope, rationale, objectives, work plan and background, f) associated web sites, g) minutes of meetings, h) discussion items, and I) miscellaneous.

Nick Sigrimis and Richard Hegg were asked to attend the CIGR Handbook Editorial Board meeting on Nov 30, 2000. This Board, chaired by past-president O. Kitani suggested that there should be a 6th volume of the handbook added to the 5 that have already been published. It was proposed that the 6th volume would be on Information Systems. There was extensive discussion on this proposal because Information Systems is a rapidly changing field and it may lend itself to a multi-year task to have a series of authors write a volume for the handbook. Nick Sigrimis volunteered to explore the possibility of a volume on Information Systems as to audience, format, possible topics, and possible chapter authors.

There were two special technical sessions on Informatics at the 2000 CIGR World Congress. The first was IT in Engineering for Agricultural Production with the following speakers: A. Munack (Germany), R. Martin-Clouaire (France), K. Omasa (Japan), and S. Searcy (USA). The second session was on IT for Model and Control with the following speakers: S. Shibusawa (Japan), E. Goto (Japan), N. Noguchi (Japan), and T. Morimoto (Japan).

The panel discussion on December 1, 2000 had the following persons make short presentations followed by questions: A. Munack (Germany), J. de Baerdemaeker (Belgium), L. Turner (USA), R. Martin-Clouaire (France), Shio (Japan), R. Gates (USA), Auernhammer (Germany), and Murase (Japan).

Richard Hegg

Vice Chair of Section VII

During his presidency the Past President Bill Stout initiated the promotion of the CIGR Technical Sections by a written mission statement of each section. The statements will be published on the CIGR website soon, and additionally in a series in the next issues of the newsletter starting this time with Section I

CIGR Section 1: Land and Water Use Engineering Mission Statement

The mission of CIGR-Section I is to promote the advance of the engineering science in the area of land and water use in agriculture and in rural areas, giving special attention to the conservation of resources, the preservation and re-establishment of environmental balances, and the social and economic impacts of applications.

Objectives

The main objective of Section I as defined in the mission statement implies other objectives also contributing to the promotion of the land and water engineering science. These are:

Scope

Considering the objectives defined as above, the scope of CIGR-Section I refers to the following main subject areas:

Activities

To achieve the objectives, several activities shall be developed by CIGR-Section I. These comprise:

All activities referred above require improved effectiveness from contributions of the Board members but some need particular inputs from the CIGR Bureau. This is the case for:

Co-operation with ESSC (European Society for Soil Conservation)

A closer co-operation between the European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC) and CIGR has been agreed on. In the future, the President of ESSC, Dr. Jose L. Rubio, will be invited to participate in the CIGR Section I Board, while the Chairman of CIGR Section I, Prof. Luis Santos Pereira, will be invited to take part in the ESSC Board.

Relationships between CIGR and EurAgEng on "Land and Water"

There has been a good communication between the two organisations: Prof. D. de Wrachien, Vice-President of EurAgEng, is ex-office member of the Board of CIGR Section I, and Prof. A. Musy, Vice-Chairman of CIGR Section I, is the representative of Section I in the EurAgEng Soil and Water Interest Group. It is desirable that such collaboration be continued.

Collaboration with ICID

It has been agreed in the past that Dr. R. Ragab, Chairman of the ICID Committee on "Sustainable Use of Natural Resources for Crop Production", and a Chairperson of this Section Board would be mutually ex-office members of the counterpart working bodies. The Vice-Chairman, Prof. A. Musy, represents CIGR Section I in that Committee.

Similarly, Dr. Alain Vidal, Chairman of the ICID Working Group on "Integrated Land and Water Resources Management", accepted to be ex-office member of Section I of CIGR, and Prof. H. van Lier is the representative member of CIGR in that working group, in order to exchange information and develop co-operative activities.

Relationships between CIGR and the Asian Society of Agricultural Engineering on Land and Water Issues

There have been contacts with the Asian Society of Agricultural Engineering (AsianSAE) and the respective National Associations on the Land and Water field. It was agreed that a representative of AsianSAE in Section I should be nominated in the Section I Board Meeting at Tsukuba, Japan. However, there was no nominee to be considered.

Similar approaches could be considered with other Regional Agricultural Engineering Societies.

CIGR Working Groups

At the occasion of the last Board Meeting of Section I, only the Working Group 8 on "Land Use and Landscape Planning", chaired by Prof. H. van Lier, was actually active in the domain of Section I. The Section Board considered that WG 8 and 9 should merge into a new Working Group, named "Sustainable Land Use and Landscape Planning". Its chairman is Prof. H. van Lier. It was also agreed that WG 10 and 11 should be merged and that Prof. J. M. Tarjuelo should chair the resulting new Working Group on "Water Management and Information Systems".

Future activities

Inter-Regional Conferences on "Environment-Water"

The 4th Inter-Regional Conference is expected to take place in August 27-30, 2001, Fortaleza, Brazil. The 5th Inter-Regional Conference is foreseen to be held in April 2002, Albacete, Spain. The 6th Inter-Regional Conference is foreseen to be held late 2002 or early 2003 at Ouagadougou, Bourkina Fasso, organised by the EIER.

Co-organised Conferences

International Conference on "Sustainable Soil Management for Environmental Protection ?Soil Physical Aspects", to be held 2-7 July 2001, at Florence, Italy, organised by the Istituto Sperimentale per lo .Studio e la Difesa del Suolo and co-organised by CIGR Section I.

Conference on "Land Use and Cover Change", to be held at the University of Tokyo, Japan, November 2001 (main convenor is Yohei Sato).

Workshop on "Land-use Planning and Management in Densely Populated Areas", to be held at the Washington State University, United States, June 2002.(main convenor is Hubert van Lier). Special Session on "Decision and Expert Systems for Land and Water Management and Engineering", to be held at occasion of the XV CIGR Congress, Chicago 2002, proposed to be organised jointly by ASAE and CIGR Section I.

Sponsored Conferences and Workshops

9th European Regional Conference on "Sustainable Use of Land and Water", to be held 4-8 June 2001, Brno and Prague, Czech Republic, organised by the ICID in co-operation with CIGR-Section I, and EurAgEng: Soil and Water Group. International Workshop on Wastewater Reuse and Management, to be held in September, 2001, in Seoul, Korea, organised by ICID in collaboration with CIGR Section I.

Board meetings

2001: July, Florence, Italy.

2002: on occasion of the XV World Congress.

Luis Santos Pereira, Chairman of Section I

Antonio Brasa Ramos, Secretary of Section I

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