The production and distribution of film and audiovisual works is one of the most dynamic growth sectors in the world. Thanks to digital technologies, production has been growing rapidly in Africa in recent years. For the first time, a complete mapping of the film and audiovisual industry in 54 States of the African continent is available, including quantitative and qualitative data and an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses at the continental and regional levels.The report proposes strategic recommendations for the development of the film and audiovisual sectors in Africa and invites policymakers, professional organizations, firms, filmmakers and artists to implement them in a concerted manner.

In the late eighties large-scale control operations were carried out to control a major desert locust upsurge in Africa. For the first time since the banning of organochlorine pesticides these operations relied mainly on non-persistent pesticides such as organophosphates and pyrethroids. The amount of pesticides sprayed and the area covered were probably the highest in the history of locust control and raised criticism with respect to efficacy, economic viability and environmental impact. As a consequence, applied research into the problem was intensified, both at the national and the international level, with the goal of finding new and environmentally sound approaches and solutions to locust and grasshopper control. Emphasis was laid on developing new control agents and techniques.

Can we unlock resilience to climate stress by better understanding linkages between the environment and biological systems? Agroclimatology allows us to explore how different processes determine plant response to climate and how climate drives the distribution of crops and their productivity. Editors Jerry L. Hatfield, Mannava V.K. Sivakumar, and John H. Prueger have taken a comprehensive view of agroclimatology to assist and challenge researchers in this important area of study. Major themes include: principles of energy exchange and climatology, understanding climate change and agriculture, linkages of specific biological systems to climatology, the context of pests and diseases, methods of agroclimatology, and the application of agroclimatic principles to problem-solving in agriculture.

uring the spring of 1960, an uncle showed me a ‘petrifying spring’ near Plaxtol in Kent Dwhere twigs had been encased in a calcareous jacket. A twig was collected and having - cently been given I. Evan’s Observer’s Book of Geology by my parents, I found a photograph of another petrifying spring and an explanation of its origin. In those days, Derbyshire was too far for a holiday destination, and I took little further interest until a research studentship with Professor G. E. Fogg became available in 1971. Tony Fogg had recently moved to the University College of North Wales, Bangor and the research was to be into cyanobacterium mats, with fieldwork along the Red Sea coast. The fieldwork never materialised but my interest in algal mats had been aroused. A chance stroll along the Bangor shore revealed beautifully calcified cya- bacterium mats, and Tony generously allowed me to investigate these instead. The old Plaxtol collection was retrieved and yielded abundant cyanobacteria. It became apparent that here was a wealth of information about a rock whose formation was so rapid, that the process could be studied in days rather than years – an exceptional state of affairs. A search of the literature also revealed that the rock, a form of travertine, had other unusual features.

In recent years, a renewed focus on agriculture has been evident in policy and development agendas for the African continent, yet little knowledge has been generated on the interlinkages of production, agroindustry and markets, as well as the potentials and challenges for developing these. This publication analyzes the challenges, the potential and opportunities of African agribusiness in the current period of dramatic changes in global agro-industrial markets, and builds a case for agribusiness development as a path to Africa's prosperity. Written by international experts, from agribusiness practitioners, to academic experts and UN technical agencies, this volume fills what the United Nations Industrial Development Organization perceived as a significant gap in knowledge concerning these issues.