Club of bologna proceedings

28
, 109 
[32]
 
Jenane C.
,
1991. Draft, energy and
traction in relation to tillage for
suggarbeet production in Gharb area.
PhD thesis IAV Hassan II, Rabat 
 
 

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Fig. 1
– Different types of tine and share of chisel plow 
Fig.2
– Variation in cohesion with moisture content [9] 
66 

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Fig.3
– Effective field capacity as function of the forward speed and work of moldboard plow [30] 
 
 
 
 
 
67 
 
 
 

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Fig. 4
– Different categories of tillage methods. In this paper, the type of tillage does not mean tillage
method as system but just as serial of mechanical actions
68 

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69
Soil Cultivation: new 
mehods and technologies 
by 
W.C.T. Chamen
UNITED KINGDOM 
1. Introduction 
In addressing the subject of today’s session, I 
considered that my audience would be see
k
ing 
guidance on the future development of products, 
and the technologies associated with those
products. I’m afraid I, like most of you have no 
divine insight into the future, but I have tried to 
isolate the factors which create change and to use 
those to predict where changes or developments 
may occur. The main forces which create change 
in farm
p 
ractice are in fact economics and
politics. Economics are governed by a wide
range of factors, which excluding subsidies, are 
dominated by crop price and labour costs. In a 
world with an ever rising population, the
increasing demand for food is unlikely t
o 
change 
in the foreseeable future. Prediction of a doubling 
of 1990 population levels by the year 2020 are 
sobering. Crop prices, dominated by glut or
famine, will continue to fluctuate as a result of
erratic changes in local weather patterns.
Emerging ag ricultural production from Eastern
Europe, China and eventually Africa, will in the 
long term maintain prices at a lower level. Within 
our own Community, the objectives of Agenda 
2000 will also create a downturn in crop prices. 
Overall, the cost of labour 
w
ill co
n
tinue to rise, 
both in the so called “developed world” and
within the emerging nations. We all wish for the 
extra luxuries of life, but with these must come an 
increase in per capita income. Although this may 
to some extent be balanced by an increa se in per 
capita output through new technology and skills, 
the real cost of labour will 
i
ncrease in
disproportion, due to our insatiable desire for
betterment. 
Politics create change through legislation,
subsidies or both and are generally driven by
public opinion. Opinion, in turn, arises from
knowledge, awareness and in many cases
perception rather than truth. 
Predicting political change or emphasis is again 
not an area in which I would claim any expertise, 
but identifying factors which will drive policy 
i
s 
less difficult.