|
| Sunday 25 September 2011 |
| Registration opens |
4.00pm |
| Welcome Reception |
6.30pm |
| Monday 26 September 2011 |
| Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre |
| Opening Ceremony |
|
| Keynote Speakers |
|
| Concurrent Sessions |
|
|
| Wednesday 28 September 2011 |
| Field day at University of Queensland, Gatton Campus |
| Demonstrations and Activities |
|
| Congress Dinner |
|
| Thursday 29 September 2011 |
| Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre |
| Keynote Speakers |
|
| Concurrent Sessions |
|
| Closing Ceremony |
|
|
The Conference will maintain the essential qualities of a lively scientific conference, guided by an international program committee, to provide:
- Maximum opportunity for interaction in varying fora.
- Presentation opportunities for the greatest possible number of delegates.
- Flexibility to accommodate different formats for different topics.
This will be achieved in a framework of plenary sessions providing small numbers of:
- Keynotes addressing broad conference themes.
- Panel discussions and workshops of contentious issues.
- "So What?" sessions of moderated discussion of real-world implications
Backed up by parallel sessions on four themes (see Themes), each of which will include:
- Presentations of one or more "lead" papers.
- Orals.
- Poster papers, both traditional and electronic.
- Workshops debating important selected issues.
Augmented by a mid-conference field day and tour on September 28th.
- This event will highlight the results, equipment and techniques of CA and FSD - related research and practice. Our objective will be to provide live demonstrations whether in the field, laboratory or computer screen, backed up in some cases with workshop discussions. As well as visiting some research facilities, participants will meet farmers managing CA and Landcare approaches in commercial operations - large/ extensive, small/intensive and horticultural.
The thematic scope of the scientific program will be guided by the following Themes and Sub-themes:
Theme 1: More efficient management practices for Conservation Agriculture to improve livelihoods / profitability / food security and to reduce environmental footprint
Click here for more information |
| |
1.1 |
Striking the balance between efficiency and trade-offs in input use (carbon, nutrients, water, pesticides, labour, energy, green house gas emissions) |
| |
1.2 |
More integrated solutions for crop, residue and weed management, including permanent raised beds, controlled traffic and site-specific management |
| |
1.3 |
Cost-effective and fit-for-purpose implements and machinery (small-holder implements, raised bed machinery, heavy residue seeders) |
| |
1.4 |
Reducing off-site impacts (soil ecology, runoff, erosion, groundwater pollution, GHG emissions) |
| |
1.5 |
On-site effects of CA on soil quality, pest and disease dynamics |
| |
1.6 |
Adaptation of CA to different conditions. |
Greater efficiency of input use has been and continues to be a key science driver of productivity and sustainable agriculture and is central to the adoption of CA practices in the developed and emerging economies. Reducing agriculture's footprint in carbon emissions and capitalising on mitigation opportunities is an emerging horizon for CA. Demonstrating such input efficiencies in smallholder dominated agricultural systems against the backdrop of improving food security and livelihoods is a main challenge for CA. In this theme we intend to identify efficient CA practices and the trade-offs in the context of multiple challenges of global change. This discourse will be based on scientific quantification of energy, labour, material and water balances, primarily by sharing new knowledge and data on the following sub-themes:
| |
1.1 |
Efficiency and trade-offs between inputs (carbon, nutrients, water, pesticides, labour, energy, green house gas emissions) |
| |
1.2 |
More integrative systems practices for crop, residue and weed management, including permanent raised beds, controlled traffic and site-specific management |
| |
1.3 |
Cost-effective and fit-for-purpose machinery (small-holder implements, raised bed machinery, heavy residue seeders) |
| |
1.4 |
Reducing off-site impacts (soil ecology, runoff, erosion, groundwater pollution, GHG emissions) |
| |
1.5 |
On-site effects of CA on soil quality, pest and disease dynamics |
| |
1.6 |
Adaptation of CA to different conditions. |
Theme 2: Designing productive farming systems that integrate solutions and balance trade-offs
Click here for more information |
| |
2.1 |
High value and lower input farming systems |
| |
2.2 |
Designing more robust and resilient farming systems in face of change (climate, markets, technologies, and policies). |
| |
2.3 |
More integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to support complex farming systems (multi-objective, new crops and genetics, multi-cropping, agroforestry and livestock) |
| |
2.4 |
Maximising environmental services and biodiversity outcomes |
Adjusting the scale and nature of agriculture to fit within the boundaries set by shifts in resource availability and changing demands for environmental outcomes requires the development and application of integrative and interdisciplinary solutions that address needs from farmers, agribusinesses and policy. In this theme we transcend the individual crop or practice and take a whole of the farming systems view, the farm and the household. We will discuss recent advances in the design and application of farming systems that are more productive and sustainable, and attuned to the agro-ecological, socio-economical (including value chains), and political environment in which they operate; for instance, understanding in what region and circumstances what CA practices could result in useful interventions to lift productivity, increase livelihoods, or reduce poverty. Some of the key outcomes from this theme will be to increase our understanding in the following sub-themes:
| |
2.1 |
Opportunities to design higher value, lower input farming systems |
| |
2.2 |
Opportunities to design more robust and resilient farming systems both for commercial and smallholder agriculture, in face of global change |
| |
2.3 |
Recent advances in the development of more integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to support complex farming systems (multi-objective, new crops and genetics, multi-cropping, agroforestry and livestock) |
| |
2.4 |
Opportunities for improving environmental services and biodiversity outcomes |
Theme 3: Achieving impact through more effective consultation, participation and knowledge sharing
Click here for more information |
| |
3.1 |
Industry-farmer-science-policymaker consultative platforms and the role of systems tools |
| |
3.2 |
Adoption and innovation / learning systems (extension, farmer's experimentation) |
| |
3.3 |
Landcare and participatory natural resource management |
The CA revolution in parts of the world went hand in hand with new ways of generating and delivering research outcomes with farmers, and a similar experience is evident with successful Landcare movements. Without the transformation of traditional extension systems into more participatory approaches with effective consultation among farmers, industry, scientists and policy makers, similar gains in uptake of CA which have been achieved in Australia, Argentina, Brazil and the United States are unlikely to be emulated in smallholder systems. In this theme we wish to extract and synthesise principles from examples of successful CA and Landcare innovation systems and explore their applicability and relevance to the more challenging development environments of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, as well as identifying some of the key practical barriers to adoption of CA. The following four sub-themes delineate the perspectives through which we intend undertaking this:
| |
3.1 |
Enhancing the effectiveness of industry-farmer-science-policymaker consultative platforms, with particular emphasis on the role of systems tools in underpinning decision making |
| |
3.2 |
Barriers and key success factors of effective adoption and innovation / learning systems (extension, farmers' experimentation) |
| |
3.3 |
OOpportunities to enhance sustainability outcomes of CA through Landcare and participatory natural resource management |
Theme 4: Informing policy development and supporting market effectiveness
Click here for more information |
| |
4.1 |
Carbon and water markets (C sequestration, water saving technologies, institutional arrangements) |
| |
4.2 |
Polices and regulation (subsidy regimes, national/local and cross-sectoral harmonisation) |
| |
4.3 |
Assessment of intervention impact / equity / sustainability (methods, indicators) |
| |
4.4 |
Assessments of vulnerability and adaptive capacity to inform policy interventions |
Many benefits of CA are in the public domain, providing one among other strong justifications for policy initiatives. The demand for well conceived policy and market mechanisms is becoming increasingly urgent for farmers to be able to respond to global change, particularly in carbon sequestration and in water markets. In this theme we will question what the most effective design principles and processes are and attempt to draw out some of the approaches and tools required to develop and target policies and assess their efficacy:
| |
4.1 |
Creating functional carbon (sequestration) and water markets that deliver private and public benefits |
| |
4.2 |
Analysing policies and regulation with respect to distortions through subsidies and identifying opportunities for cross-sectoral harmonisation |
| |
4.3 |
New and effective methods to assess policies and their impacts on livelihoods, equity and sustainability |
| |
4.4 |
Assessments of vulnerability and adaptive capacity to better target policy interventions. |
|
|
|
Foundation Sponsors
Supporting Organisations
|
|
|
|
|
