News
2011 ISSAAS International Symposium and Congress Held in Bogor, Indonesia
Contributed by Dr. Simplicio M. Medina and Dr. Roberto F. Rañola, Jr.
14-December-2011
The theme for the congress was “A Holistic Approach in Establishing Food Security: Securing Food Supplies to Meet the Future Food Demand of the Increasing Population”. The ISSAAS Indonesia Chapter led by the ISSAAS President, Prof. Dewa Suprapta and Prof. Mandang Tineke, the Vice President for the Indonesian ISSAAS Chapter organized the congress. The Institut Pertanian Bogor and the Society for Agricultural Education-Research Development Fund (SAEDA) of Japan provided financial support. The opening ceremonies was held at the IPB International Convention Center located in Jl. Raya Pajajaran, Bogor while the technical sessions were held at the Faculty of Agriculture of IPB located in Darmaga Campus.
Prof. Herry Suhardiyanto formally opened the congress while Prof. Bungaran Saragih gave the keynote speech. The general meeting that followed was presided over by the ISSAAS President and Prof. Akimi Fujimoto, the ISSAAS General Secretary. During said meeting, it was formally announced that Dr. Roberto F. Rañola, Jr. would be the incoming President for 2012-13 and the Philippines will be the next host country for the International Congress. Dr. Fernando C. Sanchez, Jr. will be the incoming Vice President for the Philippine Chapter.
Six papers from the 6-member countries were presented during the plenary session. Dr. Benjamin P. Sapitula, the President of the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU), presented the plenary paper for the Philippines. The topic of his discussion was the "Role of SUCs in Enhancing Food Security".
There were nine parallel sessions organized given the number and diversity of papers submitted for oral presentations. The nine sub-themes included, a) Adaptation to Climate Change, b) Crop Production and Improvement, c) Land Resources Management, d) Agricultural Engineering, e) Insect Ecology and Pest Management, f) Microbial Ecology and Plant Disease Management, g) Postharvest Products Management, h) Animal Science and Husbandry and i) Socio-economic and Technological Assessment of Sustainable Agriculture. The papers presented were very interesting and informative while the discussions that ensued during these sessions were very lively. This is reflective of the wealth of information from the advances of researches by the members of ISSAAS. The congress provided an excellent International venue for the members of ISSAAS to present and share among themselves the findings of their researches.
Part of the program organized by the Indonesian Chapter of ISSAAS was the ladies program that brought some of the members of ISSAAS to interesting places such as the handicraft center and the Batik Shopping Center. The International Congress was capped with a one-day tour of some interesting spots in Bogor and ended in a visit of the Bogor Botanical Garden, supposedly the biggest botanical garden in the world.
Next year will be an important milestone for the ISSAAS Philippine Chapter since it will be the host of the International Congress for the next two years. The Bicol Chapter of ISSAAS Philippines will take main brunt of organizing the International Congress since the venue for 2012 will be in Legaspi City, home of the famous Mayon Volcano. Given the enormity of the preparations required, many members from other chapters have offered their support and help in organizing said activity. Tentatively, the dates for the congress will be from Nov. 12-16, 2012.
Watch out for announcements about the next ISSAAS International Congress! It will be sooner than you think!
