The first International Agrobiodiversity Congress calls for abstracts

The 1st International Agrobiodiversity Congress will take place from 6-9 November 2016 in New Delhi, India, as a platform for stakeholders to share ideas on the sustainable management of agricultural biodiversity. Deadline for abstracts is 30 June 2016.

Food and nutrition security as well as the sustainable use of natural resources are front and centre in the recently launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 2, Target 5, explicitly calls for maintaining, by 2020, “the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species”.

Agricultural biodiversity – the diversity of plants and animals that underpin food and agriculture – is key to achieve many of these global goals.

Scientific, policy and development issues related to the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity will be top of the agenda from 6-9 November in New Delhi, India, at the 1st International Agrobiodiversity Congress.

The event, organized by the Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources and Bioversity International, will bring together experts in genetic resources, genetics and breeding, biotechnology, human nutrition, ecology and environmental science, information management, bioinformatics, genomics, agronomy, forestry, integrated pest management, conservation biology, law and policy analysis, economics and other social sciences.

The call for abstracts is open until the 30th of June, 2016. Authors can submit research on the following themes:

1. Agrobiodiversity for Food, Nutrition and Ecosystem Services
2. Agrobiodiversity for Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change
3. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and Farmers' Rights
4. Quarantine, Biosafety and Biosecurity Issues
5. Conservation Strategies and Methodologies
6. Science-led Innovation for Agrobiodiversity Management and Sustainable Use
7. Capacity Building and Strengthening Partnerships

For more information about abstract submission, visit the congress website

The International Agrobiodiversity Congress is organized by the Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources (ISPGR) and Bioversity International, in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Right Authority (PPV & FRA) (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare), National Biodiversity Authority (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Science (TAAS), National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) and Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT).

^{Photo: Different sorghum varieties. Credit: Bioversity International/J. van de Gevel}