The program combines plenary lectures, poster sessions, and sightseeing tours.

Approximately 500 participants are expected including almost 40 speakers and many presentations selected from abstracts, which can be submitted to the organisers until November 19th, 2009.

For more information:

Contact:	Prof. Alisher Touraev
E-mail:	mapd.plantmolbio@univie.ac.at
Telephone:	+431427754681
Fax:	+43142779546
Website:	http://www.univie.ac.at/mapd/

Impetus for the conference comes from the need for concrete steps to be taken to move beyond the business-as-usual approach and to respond to the growing food insecurity in developing countries, particularly in light of climate change that will worsen the living conditions of farmers, fishers and forest-dependent people who are already vulnerable and food insecure.

Agriculture, which includes the production of crops, livestock, fish and forestry products, has a direct impact on the rural economy and therefore investment in agriculture is vital and must be at the heart of any strategy for the alleviation of hunger and poverty.

While the measures needed extend well beyond the issue of producing more food and agricultural products, boosting productivity of smallholders farms through appropriate application of good practices and improved technologies must be a key ingredient of developing countries development policies.

It is in this context that FAO is organizing this international conference that encompasses the crop, forestry, livestock, fishery and agro-industry sectors, as well as the entire range of agricultural biotechnologies currently available.

Participation at the conference is by invitation only.

For more information:

Contact:	ABDC@fao.org
Website:	http://www.fao.org/biotech/abdc/

Organized by: UN FAO and the Government of Mexico

The main objectives of the IX Symposium are to contribute to the development and application of the current advances in the field of Plant Biotechnology and to allow the interchange of experiences among the participant Specialists.

Venue

Instituto de Biotecnología de las Plantas

Plant cell, tissue and organ culture
In vitro Propagation
Plant Breeding
Secondary metabolism
Plant-microbes Interactions
Functional genomics and proteomics
Bioinformatics
Biofortification and metabolic engineering
Abiotic stress
Biotechnology and biofuels
Biotechnology, climate change and food security
Biodiversity and conservation of phytogenetics resources
Biotechnology and public perception
Professional formation in biotechnology
Scientific communication in biotechnology

Plenary lectures
Workshops
Posters

Spanish and English

For more information:

E-mail:	simposio@ibp.co.cu
Website:	http://simposio.ibp.co.cu

Organized by: Instituto de Biotecnología de las Plantas

The Congress is being held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB).With an emphasis on the fundamental and applied aspects of sustainability through agriculture, topics will focus on food, biomaterials, energy and the environment. Approximately 1,500 research scientists in plant and agricultural biotechnology from around the world will attend.

Speaker presentations will focus on sustainability with reduced impact on the environment; political and social acceptance, especially in developing countries; translating fundamental knowledge into application; climate change; a mix of animal and plant biotechnology; and policy regulation.

For more information:

Website:

http://www.iapb2010.org/

Organized by: IAPB

Moisture deficits loom as one of the greatest challenges to future crop production, both in rainfed and irrigated agriculture. Enhancing the genetic tolerance of crops to drought stress, together with improved agronomic practices, is considered an essential strategy for addressing these deficits.

To respond to the need for more plant scientists trained in developing drought tolerant cultivars, Colorado State University, Oklahoma State University, and University of Nebraska researchers, guided by a committee of breeders, growers, physiologists, and agronomists are offering a short course in Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance June 14 - 25, 2010, in Fort Collins, CO. The course is targeted to graduate students in the plant sciences, as well as to professionals in the public and private sectors. It will provide three transferable graduate-level credits. The course will consist of classroom lectures, hands-on lab exercises, and field research in a drought breeding program at field sites in Eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska. Course activities are designed around three modules: