agricultural university

1-2 April 2019 . Abu Dhabi. Born with the belief that continuous innovation in agriculture is the only way to sustainably feed nine billion people by 2050, the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture has emerged as a global authority on sustainable food production, driving innovation through exhibitions and conferences across the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Since 2014, GFIA events have welcomed over 20,000 visitors and worked with over 50 globally significant partners committed to using the Forum as a catalyst for change. #GFIAMENA See list of participants Extracts of the programme Sky Kurtz , Cofounder and CEO, Pure Harvest Farms -  Middle East’s food challenge in perspective:  Population growth, little water, extreme weather is a recipe for import dependence and food security challenges. Pure Harvest will address how it is helping to tackle these challenges using state-of-the-art controlled-environment agriculture solutions and IoT. Delivery of saltwate...

15 March 2019. Nairobi. The India and Africa Partnership for Sustainability was hosted on the sidelines of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).  The series of roundtables were hosted by Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED), founded by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). As an initiative, amongst others, CNED also aims to explore avenues through which India can partner with its immediate neighbourhood and African nations in the implementation of the SDG goals. Promoting green technology forms the core of both India and Africa’s climate change agenda – India has placed special emphasis on climate change technology transfer in its climate pledge, and has an annual Research and Development (R and D) budget of USD 15 billion. In Africa, the African Climate Technology Center, co-created by the African Development Bank, is spearheading climate change research projects across the continent.  ...

31 March - 4 April 2019.  Cairo.  Land and Water Days in the NENA Region 2019  : 1 April:  Governance of Oases ecosystems: Challenges and perspectives NENA oases overview : a strategic role for a fragile ecosystem, Noureddine Nasr (see picture)   FAOSNE "We are looking for new tools and technologies for the youth to remain motivated to work and live in the oasis. And this will be different from the past." Presentation of the Maghreb advocacy strategy for the oases conservation : towards an international strategy, Patrice Burger  (see picture)   , President of the associative network for the oases sustainable development (RADDO) "Degradated land are degradated lifes" "One third of the world population are hosted in drylands. If nobody works on the oasis the oasis will collapse" "Oasis can learn us a lot about agricultural intensification" The importance of social and economic innovations through traditional water system management: Aflaj of Oman, ...

31 March - 4 April 2019. Cairo. Land and Water Days in the NENA Region 2019  : 1 April: Session: Halting land degradation Combating land degradation to promote sustainability, resilience and food security Land degradation and desertification (LDD) are increasing with alarming effects in the Near East and North Africa (NENA region), and is impacting the livelihoods of communities, their food security and likelihood of migration. The process is influenced by the socio-economic dynamic and conflict and is aggravated by climate change.  Desertification is nowhere more serious than in the NENA region. Soil erosion results in losses of soil nutrients, loss of soil organic carbon and declined productivity. Approximately 60% (135 million ha) of soil is eroded by wind, which can result in Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) under certain conditions, and causing loses of about USD 13 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year.  Growing population and the increasing demand for r...

11-15 March 2019 . Nairobi. Fourth biennial United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) . The assembly focused on innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production .  Increasing numbers of consumers are aware of the importance of their consumption choices and care about environmental issues. For some, sustainable consumption means to purchase less, to select environmentally friendly products that are the result of fair trade or to share purchased goods. However, many do not translate their concerns into action as, for example, the purchase-decision making process is far more complicated and relies on social, political, economic and psychological factors, as well as on the price of the product. For people who want to pursue more sustainable living, in many cases, better options are not available, affordable, or effective. Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Consumption The multi-stakeholder dialogue provided an opportunity to discuss how p...

21 March 2019 . The UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012. The Day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. On each International Day of Forests, countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns. The theme for each International Day of Forests is chosen by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), whose members agreed in 2017 that the Day’s theme would provide an opportunity to highlight specific forest contributions to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by considering topics of the annual sessions of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). Related: In a press article release of 11/02 the NASA claimed that the Earth is greener today than 20 years ago thanks to China and India. The world is literally a greener place than it was 20 years ago, and data from ...

WWAP (UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme). 2019. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind. Paris, UNESCO . 202 pages 19 March 2019 . Geneva. Launch of the  United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) - the flagship publication of UN-Water on the state of global freshwater resources. Listen to live audio: 16h00 - 17:45 local time # WorldWaterDay UN World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind You can download the report when you click on the  download icon ( right upper on your screen  of the online versions: English | Français | Español (pdf) Executive Summary English | Français | Español | Русский | ا لعربية | 中文 (pdf) Italiano | Português | ภาษาไทย | Deutsch | Korean (pdf) Main messages English (pdf) Facts and Figures English | Français | Español (pdf) Italiano | Português (pdf) Media corner | Global launch | Regional launches Improved water resources management and access to safe wat...

9-10 April 2019 . Cotonou, Benin. Experts at a Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) meeting have called for its integration into national agricultural development projects in order to reach millions of farmers across Africa. The meeting brought together ministerial level government representatives and experts from AfDB, IITA and the other implementing agencies of the TAAT programme. The main objective of the programme is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight Priority Intervention Areas (PIA). An innovative combination of technical expertise, finance and political will to transform  African agriculture. The transformation of agriculture will not be possible without the help of adapted technologies. To achieve our objectives, we must be able to wisely combine political will, favorable economi...

HarvestPlus has launched the Iron Works campaign , timed around International Women's Day 2019, to raise awareness about #irondeficiency and how we are addressing it through nutritious biofortified foods in close collaboration with CGIAR centers, NARS, and many other partners. References: The Iron Works page on the HarvestPlus website provides access to all resources. These currently include: A multimedia digital feature on how HarvestPlus and its many partners within the CG system and beyond improve lives with Iron-Biofortified Crops. An infographic summarizing the problem and the biofortification solution. A toolkit for use on social media and elsewhere. A quiz to test one’s knowledge of iron deficiency. A recipe card for biofortified bean stew. There will be much more to come, including more recipe cards, videos, additional graphics, and several iron-focused stories from the field. Keep an eye on the HarvestPlus social media channels. Iron-biofortified crops are a practic...

9 - 10 March 2019. The United Arab Emirates hosted the Conference of Agricultural Ministers of the World’s Date Producing and Processing Countries . Organised by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and FAO the conference developed a framework strategy for the eradication of the red palm weevil, in addition to endorsing the establishment of a credit fund to finance its implementation. Amid growing international concern about the danger the red palm weevil poses to the health of palm trees and, ultimately, the future of date production, the event will convene ministers of agriculture from date producing and processing countries around the world as well as heads of concerned international organisations. The Red Palm Weevil , an insect originating in South East Asia that has spread rapidly through the Near East and North Africa, is the most dangerous and destructive pest o...