 |
 |
 |
Newsletter N°3 | May 2010 | www.agropolis-fondation.fr |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Agropolis Fondation participation at GCARD 2010 Agropolis Fondation was among the sponsors of first Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD 2010) held on 28-31 March 2010 in Montpellier. This historic event brought together about 1,000 researchers, policymakers, farmers, donors, and members of civil society from every region of the world to develop a new agricultural research for development (AR4D) architecture that is geared toward reducing both hunger and poverty. Organized under the auspices of the Global Forum on Agriculture Research (GFAR) and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), GCARD produced the “Montpellier Roadmap” which outlines agricultural research for development priorities that also emphasizes farmers and women in decision-making. The Foundation’s commitment to promote and support innovation while ensuring that cutting-edge science responds to critical development challenges resonates well with the call made by GCARD participants, i.e., for agricultural research to have a greater development impact. |
 |
|||
| News digest | |||
|
|||
 Agropolis Fondation Chairman of the Board Henri Carsalade delivers his message during the Award Ceremony of the 1st Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize for Food and Agriculture at GCARD 2010.  2010 Distinguished Scientist Awardee Ken Sayre delivers his acceptance speech during the Award Ceremony  2010 Young Promising Scientist Awardee Silvia Restrepo addresses the audience during the Award Ceremony.  From L to R. Agropolis Fondation Director Anne-Lucie Wack, 2010 Prize Jury Chair Guido Gryseels, Awardee Ken Sayre, Agropolis Fondation Chairman of the Board Henri Carsalade and Awardee Silvia Restrepo. Doctors Ken Sayre and Silvia Restrepo were awarded the Agropolis Fondation’s Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize Distinguished Scientist and Young Promising Scientist, respectively on 29 March, the second day of GCARD 2010. The two winners each received €20 000, a glass trophy and a diploma. This year’s Prize was also supported by the Languedoc-Roussillon Region. Given once every two years, the Prize was created by Agropolis Fondation as a tribute to Louis Malassis, a French agro-economist and ardent supporter of farmers’ cause, and founder of the Agropolis campus. The Prize aims to recognize the exemplary contribution of scientists in the field of agriculture and food as well as to inspire young promising researchers to work towards excellent science in the service of the society. “Receiving this Prize not only honors my efforts to improve agriculture in developing countries but also honors the overall importance of this endeavor to bring equity and improved livelihoods to farmers everywhere. Working with farmers has made me become a better scientist. Let us work together to make farmers become better scientists” said Sayre during his acceptance speech. Dr Sayre is a Regional Agronomist for Asia of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). “This prize is a great motivation for me,” said Dr. Restrepo, Young Promising Scientist winner. ”It makes me feel responsible to keep contributing in my field of research. It encourages me to disseminate whatever knowledge I have and to help others fulfill their projects in my own country and other developing countries,” the plant pathologist and associate professor from the University of Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia added. The Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize Award Ceremony was also attended by various stakeholders including scientists and civil society groups participating in the GCARD conference. The occasion was also graced by representatives of the family of the late Louis Malassis. The 2010 International Jury was chaired by Dr. Guido Gryseels, Director-General of the Central African Museum in Belgium.Click here to know more about this year’s winners > Contact: |
 Oliver Oliveros of Agropolis Fondation moderates the discussion during the Open Science session. Daniel Barthelemy responds to question related to Pl@ntNet. Gerard Cros mentions that for the first time in human history, number of hungry people reached 1 billion in 2009. The Foundation also played a part in the organization of GCARD’s Plenary Session on Open Science which tried to look at why should and how can the international agricultural research be mobilized beyond research experts. The session featured a talk by Dr. Louise Fortmann (University of California-Berkeley and member of the Foundation’s Science Council) which highlighted the need to promote interdependent science, i.e., the need to promote the interface between science, society, and the environment. It also underscored bridging generations, i.e., training the next generation of agriculture professionals. To this end, participants of the Young Researchers’ Seminar, a GCARD pre-event, represented by Dr. Afua Banful (IFPRI, USA) and Dr. Francisco Guevarra-Hernandez (University of Chiapas, Mexico) provided a feedback on their discussion and read a statement outlining a list of priority issues which they think should be addressed by the global ARD system. (See related story). A short film on the Foundation’s flagship programme called Pl@ntNet, an interactive plant identification and collaborative information system, illustrated not only how to link citizens and researchers but also how new information and communication technologies can be used towards agrobiodiversity conservation. Daniel Barthelemy, Pl@ntNet Project leader, responded to questions related to this initiative. The last segment of the Open Session focused on Nutrition, Agriculture & Human Health and the need for trans-disciplinary linkages, with Dr. Gerard Cros (University of Montpellier I) making his intervention in the form of an interactive quiz.
Contact: |
|
|||
| Special Feature | |||
|
|||
 Participants to the first Young Researchers' Seminar (YRS) issued their own statement presented during GCARD’s Open Science Session on 30 March. The group composed of 40 doctoral and post doctoral scientists from 26 countries took part in the GCARD Pre-event entitled “YRS 2010: Exploring agricultural research for the future, a dialogue between young researchers from the South and the North” held on 25-30 March 2010 in Montpellier. The event was organized by the French Initiative for International Agricultural Research (FI4IAR) with the support of Agropolis Fondation.  YRS2010 participant Dr. Afua Banful provides feedback to GCARD participants during the Open Science Session. “We, the young researchers, will be inheriting the system of agriculture research for development and we approach the future with optimism and a spirit of making change. The future of agriculture research depends on us,” said the group in their statement. These include more opportunities for interactions among researchers, mentoring programs as well as guidelines for conducting interdisciplinary research and in bridging scientific and local knowledge. The young researchers also called for the need to come up with a diversity of funding duration needed to support longer-term research taking into account the time frame required for a PhD training. YRS participants tackled the theme “innovation and integration.” The three-day seminar offered them the opportunity to meet their fellows from other parts of the world, learn from each other, meet senior experts, discuss research results and explore joint actions. Click here to download the Young Researchers’ Full Statement > Contact: |
Pl@ntNet and ARCAD websites now online ARCAD (www.arcad-project.org), short for Agropolis Resource Center for Crop Conservation, Adaptation and Diversity, aims to set up a new open multi-function platform devoted to the assessment and improved use of plant agrobiodiversity in Mediterranean and tropical regions. It focuses on the relationship between crop diversity and the processes of domestication and adaptation to the agricultural environment. Both websites will provide readers with up to date information about the activities and key research results of these research programmes. |
|
|||
| About Agropolis Fondation | |||
|
|||
|
AGROPOLIS FONDATION STAFF
|
Contact: Agropolis Fondation Avenue Agropolis 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5 France Tel: +33(0) 4 67 04 75 74 Fax: +33(0) 4 67 04 75 43 agropolis-fondation@agropolis.fr |
|
|||
| What's on your mind? | |||
|
|||
Agropolis Fondation Newsletter is meant to serve as a tool to disseminate information on our and our partners’ goings-on. But since we would like this Newsletter to be of service to you, we would like to know what you think and what you’d like to read next time. |
|
|
|