The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) announces the 4th International Symposium on Lychee, Longan and Other Sapindaceae Fruits, to be held from 2-6 December, 2012, in White River, South Africa.
The symposium is organised by the South African Litchi Growers’ Association and the Agricultural Research Council under the auspices of ISHS. Maybe this is an opportunity to disseminate your work on Sapindaceae fruits, but consider that your paper is likely to appear in conference proceedings behind a pay wall and will effectively be inaccessible to the folks unable to afford the hefty fees for ISHS article downloads. This is unfortunate as the scarcity of literature on these lesser known species is  further aggravated by what appears to us as obsolete publication policies.

ISHS has just announced the First International Symposium on Jackfruit and other Moraceae to take place in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, from August 31 to  September 2, 2012. Further information can be obtained from Prof. Mohammad Abdur Rahim, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Department of Horticulture, Mymensingh, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh. Phone +880 9162714 , Fax +880 9155810, E-mail: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Planet Under Pressure takes place this week – a major event focusing on solutions to the global sustainability challenge, leading up to Rio+20 in June 2012.

Bioversity International is organizing a live web-cast for us all to be there and contribute – see the message from Bioversity International’s web site

To mark the event, why not join Bioversity International for a live chat ‘Agricultural Biodiversity and our Planet‘ on Tuesday 27 March at 14:00 from Rome, Italy (Central European Summer Time – CEST) which you will be able to follow live from this page. Check out the International Time Converter.

Our expert panel – Emile Frison, Bruce Cogill, Fabrice DeClerck and Stephan Weise – will respond to questions and comments about how agricultural biodiversity can contribute to the global sustainability challenge and improve nutrition and livelihoods in smallholder farming communities.

As well as opportunities to contribute questions and comments during the event, we are also now taking advance questions through Twitter – #abdchat

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in close collaboration with Khon Kaen University, Thailand, and National Research Council Thailand (NRCT), is pleased to announce the convening of a Regional Symposium on “Promoting underutilised food resources for better nutrition” to be held in Khon Kaen, Thailand, 21-23 May 2012. The Symposium will present case studies presenting the wealth of knowledge in indigenous communities in diverse ecosystems, the richness of their food resources, the strengths of the local traditional food systems, and the circumstances of the nutrition transition in indigenous communities. It will present evidence on local and traditional food systems and central role to public health improvement, and required policies at local, national and international levels for protection of food environments to ensure food security and nutritional quality. Documentation of local/traditional knowledge of use of diversity in developing strategies to cope with specific situations and recommendations made available on how to enhance good practices through their blending with scientific findings. The Symposium will help to identify policy options to promote greater use of local food diversity addressed and recommended at national and international level; and proposals for concrete short and medium term measures for actions needed to support conservation and sustainable use of indigenous and traditional foods to improve nutrition. This event will serve as the basis for future dialogue, debate and information exchange and facilitate wider support for an international movement committed to the implementation of effective, sustainable and long-term food-based solutions to hunger and malnutrition. As part of preparatory work for symposium, papers to be presented at the Symposium and be part of a publication on “Indigenous and Traditional food systems of Asia and the Pacific” are now being solicited.

THEMES:

• “Wild” indigenous plants and animal origin collected from uncultivated land and forest (e.g. leafy plants, roots, berries, small rodents, and insects) and from aquatic environments (e.g. indigenous small fish, frogs and snails).
• Semi-domesticated indigenous plants and animals, for example gardening of indigenous plant species and culture of indigenous fish species in rice fields in Asia.
• Traditional cooking/preparation and preservation methods: a wide range of household level, small-scale cooking and processing methods applied to improve food properties such as fermentation, soaking, drying, smoking in particular of indigenous foods for enhancing nutritional value.
• Identification of new partnerships and areas of collaboration, particularly in the direction of advocacy, policy and public awareness, research and funding to support food systems that preserve and sustain diverse traditional food cultures in Asia

DEADLINES AND REQUIREMENTS:

Send all submissions in Microsoft Word format. FULL PAPER (including abstract, key words, conclusions, diagrams, references) up to 8 page paper. Please provide your name, affiliation, full mailing address, telephone / fax number and e-mail address. All submissions will be peer reviewed and edited by members of the Organizing Committee. Accepted papers will be published BEFORE THE CONFERENCE (both print and electronic format), that will be copyrighted and widely disseminated.

SUBMISSION OF FULL PAPERS DEADLINE: 1 April, 2012

CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS: email hidden; JavaScript is required; email hidden; JavaScript is required;

Apart from the classical horticultural themes addressed, this congress will also include “Food Security” and “Indigenous African crops”.

Key Dates:
Deadline for abstract submission for oral presentations: 15 October 2011.
Early bird registration closes on 30 of September 2011.
Late registration closes on 15 November 2011.

Congress website | Congress brochure