“International Conference on Organic Agriculture in the Tropics: State-of-the-Art, Challenges and Opportunities”, to be held at Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, August 20-24, 2017.
This international conference is jointly organized by 4 Indonesian universities and Research Institutes and Ghent University (Belgium), in collaboration with the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), and with representation from SOCLA (Sociedad Científica Latinoamericana de Agroecología). Opening address at the conference will be given by André Leu (Australia), IFOAM president. We would greatly appreciate if you could further publicize this conference to anyone potentially interested within your institute and country.
Registration/abstract submission for this conference is now open. For full details and background information, please visit the conference website at: http://web.faperta.ugm.ac.id/orgatrop2017/
Important deadlines:
Deadline for abstract submission: March 15, 2017
Notification of abstract acceptance: within 2 weeks of abstract submission
Deadline for submission of 6-pages paper for conference proceedings: June 15, 2017
Deadline for selected full paper submission: August 24, 2017
Conference registration fees have been kept very low to allow maximum participation by people from developing countries.
Early bird registration/payment (140 EUR) deadline: April 30, 2017
Late registration/payment (190 EUR) deadline: June 15, 2017
Background and Rationale
There is an urgent need for more research, both fundamental and applied, on organic farming practices in the tropics, and for a better dissemination of existing knowledge towards the practitioners in the field. Organic farming in the tropics presents a number of specific challenges that justify a dedicated conference. The aim of this conference is therefore to bring together scientists, policy makers and practitioners active in organic farming to present the latest research developments, and discuss how new and existing knowledge can be implemented in an efficient manner in order to foster further development of organic farming in the tropics.
Why a conference in Indonesia?
Indonesia is a country where many crops are grown by default without external inputs, and hence where the step to true organic farming is often small. Moreover, there are numerous initiatives of organic farming in crops that are traditionally grown in a conventional manner (rice, vegetables). The Indonesian government is very supportive towards organic farming, including support for marketing and acquiring certification. There is a very active research community in Indonesia working on organic farming. Over the last 10 years, the Indonesian Soil Research Institute (ISRI) in Bogor, the Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta and Ghent university (Belgium) have collaborated intensively in research on organic rice and vegetable farming in West and Central Java, and this collaboration was the starting point for organizing this conference.
