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For many, the dawn of the New Year has not brought the brightness and hope that they would wish when looking forward to a better future. Despite the technology of the 21st century, we are reminded of the fragility of human life as Iran comes to terms with the loss of so many people. The thousands of deaths are a tragedy in stark comparison with the three lives lost in a similar sized earthquake only a few days later in California. But the US has a different burden to bear as it faces up to its first case of BSE and the immediate impact on its beef industry and national economy as countries worldwide ban imports of American beef. The US may seek to place the blame elsewhere but others will feel that they have ignored the toll of the warning bell for too long.

The controversy over BSE is set to continue but in this edition of New Agriculturist we look to the continuing debate over Intellectual Property in Points of View whilst Perspective discusses ways of creating wealth for smallholder farmers. Modern policies and intensification of agriculture are questioned in "So shall we reap" by Colin Tudge, the lead book featured in In Print, while sheep tagging, potato ring rot and deforestation in the Amazon are all highlighted in News brief. The tropical island of Jamaica is our Country Profile and African issues of tsetse control, pastoralism, land reform and soil fertility are covered in Developments. Finally, in the first of a two-part Focus On Weeds we look at a selection of the most troublesome weeds that impact on improved agricultural production in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

At a time when we can look back over the achievements of the previous year, we hope New Agriculturist provides you with further food for thought on the achievements and dilemmas that make the challenges for development for 2004.

Points of view Intellectual Property Focus on Weeds (part 1) Waging war on weeds in Vanuatu Running wild Spearheading Imperata control Awash with weeds Strategies to stop Striga Lantana camara action In Print So shall we reap Women and plants: Gender relations in biodiversity management and conservation Sweet potato Hungry corporations: Transnational biotech companies colonise the food chain Linking lives and livelihoods Optimizing soil moisture for plant production: The significance of soil porosity Rangelands of the arid and semi-arid zones in Uzbekistan Water productivity in agriculture: Limits and opportunities for improvement Perspective Creating wealth for smallholder farmers By Kehinde Makinde, marketing economist at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria working on Rural Sector Enhancement Program (RUSEP)

News Pesticide use covered by international law Malaria linked with deforestation Pigeonpea vs podborers: a new line of defence Zimbabwe's evicted farmers take to the courts Mixed reports for food security in Africa Tanzanian parliament blocks government on GM imports HIV/AIDS a major threat to Zimbabwe agriculture Tagging scheme for EU sheep Moringa - an answer to malnutrition First livestock census in Afghanistan 'Agriculture is a political priority in Zambia' Uzbek Prime Minister replaced by agriculturist Potato ring rot hits the UK Chinese crop breeder honoured by science academy Developments Pastoral visions: changing perceptions of pastoral lives Land reform - keeping the promise A trio of instruments for tsetse control Taking the tricks out of the trade Country Profile Jamaica Picture feature Yam culture

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