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The moment in time is like any other but human perception imbues the New Year/Century/Millennium with special significance and expectations. For agriculturists and policy makers there are projections a-plenty of demographic and food supply and demand trends; dire warnings of fast failing soil fertility, and suggestions of how it may be possible to continue to farm productively under less than ideal conditions (In Print Living with drought and Food in the 21st Century). Other alternatives for farming sustainably in the decades ahead are to diversify into poultry, including ostrich, to be ready to apply the latest technology including pest and disease control in crops and animals, and to be opportunistic. Aquaculture will become more important as a source of edible protein and there will be opportunities to integrate fish farming with crops and livestock. Capture fisheries will also have to be better managed if fish stocks are to be conserved and exploited sustainably (See News and Developments).

Effective communication of information will become ever more important and agricultural scientists must accept the challenge of, and responsibility for, justifying their work and explaining their findings in terms farmers and the general public can understand. Without the training and commitment to do this, agriculture will be increasingly marginalized in public perception and funding for agricultural research will continue to decline.

As always, national policies will determine the freedoms and limitations within which farmers may operate. Perspective features gender and land reform issues in Zimbabwe, which have echoes in other countries, while Country Profile reveals some of the choices faced by land-locked, agricultural Bhutan. And, as always, if you would like to comment on these, or on any other aspect of New Agriculturist, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please email us.

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