There is a fair chance that, as you read this, you will have a cup of coffee next to your computer. Robusta, arabica, full-flavoured or mild, it will keep you stimulated, as indeed will this edition of New Agriculturist in which, this month, we focus on this important crop.

Also percolating through this edition of New Agriculturist are some of the weightiest issues in agriculture today. Can the WTO, for example, be a champion of poor farmers in developing countries whose livelihoods remain undermined by the subsidies that the richer nations use to protect their own? (See Perspective). What is currently brewing on the biotechnology scene and will GMOs filter through to the small farmer? We report from 'Global Agriculture 2020', an international conference where, 'far-sighted to the future', the 2020 vision of most participants reveals their, sometimes cautious, optimism. These are contrasted by views expressed In Print this month, see 'Redesigning Life' whose authors fear too much focus upon the silver lining and none upon the cloud.

Closer to the ground, we discover the secrets of rangeland restoration in Syria, (Bringing overgrazed land back from the brink), water conservation in India (Watertight) and pioneering work in Tanzania linking livestock and human health (Bovine tuberculosis - a knotty problem?). And, from the Hex River valley in South Africa's Western Cape, news of progress in the plan to reduce the damage caused by fruit flies by regular releases of sterile flies (Fly in the ointment).

New Agriculturist believes that diversity is healthy. We hope you find much of interest this month - as you enjoy the rest of your coffee.

Please let us know if you experience any problems with accessing New Agriculturist. Please also suggest topics that you would like to see covered in future editions and send us your suggestions for making New Agriculturist even easier to use.

Points of view Agriculture in 2020 Focus on Coffee Spilling the beans An awful lot of coffee in Vietnam Beans, Birds and Bio-diversity GM coffee: brewing up a storm Making the most of IPM in Malawi Charged up and online Uganda coffee: wilting under pressure? In Print Redesigning Life? The worldwide challenge to genetic engineering Vital Signs: The trends that are shaping our future Irrigated Wheat: Managing your crop Coffee Futures: A sourcebook of some critical issues confronting the coffee industry A Putumayo Blend: Music from the Coffee Lands Linkages, Livestock and Livelihoods: Promoting co-ordination in livestock research for poor people Recognising African Swine Fever: FAO Animal Health Manual No. 9 Pesticide Application Methods (3rd Edition) Poultry Still Waiting for the Jubilee: Pragmatic Solutions for the Third World Debt Crisis Soil Management and Conservation for Small Farms Cocoa: A guide to trade practices Ethical issues in food and agricultures From Crisis to Transformation

Perspective WTO can help World's Poor Farmers By Eugenio Diaz Bonilla and Sherman Robinson, IFPRI News Please smell the roses, but don't sniff the pyrethrum More rice from less A research resource Putting off the pod borers Cleaning up the pesticide dumps Six foot under the best place for sorghum? Putting the 'lake' back into Lake Chilwa Breeding for aggression in the gentle lentil Farmers' voices: from field to air Responding to AIDS: Land rights for widows and orphans Stirring up cocoa in Uganda The end of the worm in the apple? Agri-network launched in the Caribbean Developments Watertight? Bringing overgrazed land back from the brink Bovine tuberculosis: a knotty problem? Poverty targets Fly in the ointment? Country Profile Cameroon

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