Final Report Summary - EFARD 2005 Zurich (European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development, International Conference, Zurich 2005)
The mission of the 'European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development' (EFARD) is to strengthen the contribution of European agricultural research for development to poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable development in developing countries. EFARD conferences, which are held every three years, constitute the core element of EFARD's activities by providing a platform for strategic dialogue among European stakeholder groups and promoting research partnerships between European and Southern research communities.
Previous EFARD conferences were directed towards the identification of common research themes and interests at the European level. The EFARD 2005 Conference, which was held in Zurich from 27 29 April 2005, built on these experiences and took particular account of the enlargement of the EU and of the consolidation of regional research fora in the South and the East.
The Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR) has been commissioned by EFARD with the organisation of the EFARD 2005 Conference. The conference programme was outlined by a European programme committee, formed by representatives from several European national fora on agricultural research for development, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), research institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and policy makers.
Under the title 'Agricultural research for development (ARD): european responses to changing global needs', the EFARD 2005 Conference focused on how current global trends imply changing needs for European ARD. The conference served as a platform to discuss and elaborate a position on how European ARD should respond to these changing global needs.
A call for oral and poster contributions was launched in April 2004 to seek for scientific inputs and case studies for the proposed conference themes. Due to the broad response to the call, a total of 54 oral presentations - respectively 68 poster presentations - could be allocated to 11 thematically structured scientific parallel sessions and another 32 oral presentations were allotted to 11 parallel workshops. In addition, about 20 invited speakers gave keynote presentations in the plenary. In total, some 360 participants from 64 countries, representing all stakeholder groups, attended the EFARD 2005 Conference. A great number of full conference fellowships were granted to participants from developing countries and some partial fellowships were given to participants from Eastern European countries.
The main objectives of the EFARD 2005 Conference were:
- to promote the agenda of agricultural research for development among institutions in Europe, developing and transition countries;
- to provide a platform for information exchange and development of joint research activities for all relevant stakeholders such as researchers, NGOs, farmers organisations and the private sector;
- to reflect the mutual influence of the agricultural research agenda and of agricultural policy;
- to promote the awareness among policy makers and the public regarding the objectives and the mission of international agricultural research for development.
Previous EFARD conferences were directed towards the identification of common research themes and interests at the European level. The EFARD 2005 Conference, which was held in Zurich from 27 29 April 2005, built on these experiences and took particular account of the enlargement of the EU and of the consolidation of regional research fora in the South and the East.
The Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR) has been commissioned by EFARD with the organisation of the EFARD 2005 Conference. The conference programme was outlined by a European programme committee, formed by representatives from several European national fora on agricultural research for development, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), research institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and policy makers.
Under the title 'Agricultural research for development (ARD): european responses to changing global needs', the EFARD 2005 Conference focused on how current global trends imply changing needs for European ARD. The conference served as a platform to discuss and elaborate a position on how European ARD should respond to these changing global needs.
A call for oral and poster contributions was launched in April 2004 to seek for scientific inputs and case studies for the proposed conference themes. Due to the broad response to the call, a total of 54 oral presentations - respectively 68 poster presentations - could be allocated to 11 thematically structured scientific parallel sessions and another 32 oral presentations were allotted to 11 parallel workshops. In addition, about 20 invited speakers gave keynote presentations in the plenary. In total, some 360 participants from 64 countries, representing all stakeholder groups, attended the EFARD 2005 Conference. A great number of full conference fellowships were granted to participants from developing countries and some partial fellowships were given to participants from Eastern European countries.
The main objectives of the EFARD 2005 Conference were:
- to promote the agenda of agricultural research for development among institutions in Europe, developing and transition countries;
- to provide a platform for information exchange and development of joint research activities for all relevant stakeholders such as researchers, NGOs, farmers organisations and the private sector;
- to reflect the mutual influence of the agricultural research agenda and of agricultural policy;
- to promote the awareness among policy makers and the public regarding the objectives and the mission of international agricultural research for development.