International news, comment and conference reports from a European perspective  

2004 Conference Calendar

5-7 January -  International Advances in Pesticide Application 2004
being held by the Association of Applied Biologists at Royal Holloway College, London  
This event was reported on by Martin Redbond in the January edition of CPM.

24-25 February - Crop Protection in Northern Britain at the University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

 2- 3 March - 1st International Conference - Genomics and Society
organised by the ESRC Centre for Economics and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen) at the Royal Society, London. CPM's editor, Brian Hicks, attended and reported on this groundbreaking conference in the March edition of CPM. The three parallel conference streams covered both human healthcare and agricultural applications of genomics from a wide range of social, ethical, economic and regulatory perspectives. ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) is playing a leading role in the UK's Rural Economy and Land Use research programme (RELU), which was launched last year (CPM October 2003). This brings together the expertise of UK natural and social scientists to develop practical, research-based solutions to help secure the future of the British countryside, with an initial budget of £20.5 million over three years.  

10-11 March -  Mieux traiter ("treat better")

AFPP Symposium on application techniques of plant protection products

This symposium was held at the Congress Centre in Orleans, France. Over 250 attended this event, which was held by the French Plant Protection Association, AFPP, in association with its application section, CIETAP.

10-11 March - Increasing the effectiveness of world public sector agricultural research through partnerships: bases for novel paradigms - at the SCI Headquarters at 14/15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS

This conference was held by the Association of Applied Biologists as part of its centenary programme of events in 2004 and also to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Pest Management Group of the Society of Chemical Industry.

      
at the University of Ghent, Belgium.      
http://www.iscp.ugent.be    Email: iscp@ugent.be

Dr Stephen Moss (Rothamsted Research, UK) gave the first plenary lecture on Herbicide-resistant weeds in Europe - the wider implications. The second was presented by Dr F Macías (Cádiz University) on Allelopathy - a natural strategy for weed control . This was a very convivial and friendly event with a wide range of simultaneous sessions. Most delegates came from  Belgium and the Netherlands but there was a good mix from elsewhere in Europe as well. The one-day symposium ended in a banquet held at one of Ghent's splendid historical buildings. Martin Redbond attended and reported on this event in the May edition of CPM.

6-7 May - 11th International Conference on Registration of Agrochemicals in Europe
being held by IBC Life Sciences at the Renaissance Hotel, Brussels, Belgium. This event is a "must" for registration and regulatory specialists. Speakers  included some of the leading regulators from the European Commission and Member States as well as consultants and specialists from the private sector . The keynote address, Progress with the Review Programme and the Revision of the 91/414 Directive, was given by Dr Canice Nolan (Head Pesticides Sector, Plant Health Unit, DG Health & Consumer Protection,  European Commission). Included in the wide-ranging programme were updates on developments at EFSA and presentations about registration procedures in Germany, Belgium, Greece, Estonia, Hungary and Poland. Fred Raveney and Bill Pickering attended and reported on this conference. 

11-16 May - 15th International Plant Protection Congress
 in Beijing, China   http://ipmchina.net

25-26 May - Agriculture in future rural landscapes: visionary perspectives of opportunities through innovative research in applied biology -  at the SCI Headquarters at 14/15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS

This conference was held by the Association of Applied Biologists as part of its centenary programme of events and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Pest Management Group of the Society of Chemical Industry.

This was the annual conference of the international trade association, CropLife International, Brussels. Martin Redbond, editor of CPM, attended and reported. The 2003 event was a lively debate about GM crops with a good mix of expert speakers. It was attended by a wide range of different stakeholders and held in association with EuropaBio, as reported in CPM June 2003 (see also http://www.croplife.org/Annual_Conference_2003/Video).

There were speakers from the United Nations, the food chain business and NGOs who set the stage for a wide-ranging discussion on:

• Plant Science, Food, Consumer Protection and Consumer Choice
• The World Food Agenda: a North/South dialogue

The conference also provided an opportunity to focus on rice as one of the world’s most important staple food crops for much of the developing world as part of the plant science industry’s contribution to the United Nations International Year of Rice. There was also a special breakfast session on water.  Panellists discussed water management strategies and challenges in agriculture, which accounts for some 70% of global water use.  

13-16 June - European Pesticide Residue Workshop (EPRW 2004) - Pesticides in Food and Drink being held in Stockholm, Sweden with support from the European Commission and hosted by the Swedish National Food Administration. This was the fifth EPRW workshop and has become the premier European meeting for presenting the latest concepts and developments in pesticide residue analysis, monitoring and other related topics.

16-17June  Cereals 2004

This popular annual arable event incorporates Sprays & Sprayers and is organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in association with ADAS, the East of England Agricultural Society, Farmers Weekly, HGCA, Syngenta and Velcourt. This year it was staged at Heath Farm, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire. Martin Redbond and Bruce Knight attended and reported in the June edition of CPM.  

21-22 June Endocrine Disruptors in 91/414/EEC in Cologne, Germany

organised by Akademie Fresenius, including an update on OECD ecotoxicology work

4-7 July - The Royal Show -  The UK's most prestigious agribusiness and country lifestyle event, held at a permanent site in Stoneleigh, near Kenilworth, Warwickshire.

5-6 July - Consumers, Farmers and Food: Reconciling the Future

An international Chatham House conference organised by the UK's Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, in partnership with New Scientist magazine. Bruce Knight, CPM's new technologies correspondent, will be attending and reporting the event, as will Brian Hicks.  Syngenta AG was one of the conference sponsors and the company's CEO, Michael Pragnell, was amongst the wide mix of speakers. Also speaking at the conference were Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute,  Sir John Krebs, Chairman, UK Food Standards Agency, and  Robert Madelin, Director General, Public Health and Consumer Protection Directorate, European Commission. The previous Chatham House

conference on Food Production and the New Trade Agenda was held in London on 19-20 May 2003, as reported in CPM May 2003.

8-9 July Behaviour of Pesticides in Air, Soil and Water in Cologne, Germany,

organised by Akademie Fresenius

31 August - 2 September - 12th International Conference on Weed Biology

This conference is being held in Dijon, France, organised by the working group on weed biology, ecology and systematics of French plant protection association AFPP

1-2 September - 4th International Potato Technical and Commercial Event, Villiers St Christophe, Aisne, Northern France

8-9 September - INNOV-AGRI 2004  -  event and exhibition showcasing materials, equipment and products for agriculture, Outarvlille (South of Paris)

12-15 September - ABIC 2004 in Cologne, Germany, organised by Phytowelt under the auspices of the ABIC Foundation Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) is one of the most important conferences on agricultural biotechnology. The conference was set up in Canada in 1996 by the ABIC Foundation, and was held for the first time outside Canada in 2004. Martin Redbond and Bruce Knight reported on this conference in CPM September and October 2004.

20-22 September - The AgChem Forum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands was organised by IBC Global Conferences. There was regulatory and risk assessment updates and a business strategy seminar included in the programme.

There was also a pre-conference workshop on registration dossier preparation. The previous AgChem Forum was held in Amsterdam two years ago and a report can be viewed in the archive (CPM April 2002)

26 September - 1October  - 4th International Crop Science Congress - Brisbane, Australia

Offering a good mix of topics and international speakers, this event was held in conjunction with the 5th Asian Crop Science Congress and the 11th Australian Agronomy Conference.

4-6 October - International Conference on Environmentally Friendly Spray Application Techniques, Warsaw, Poland, was organised by the Research Institute of Pomology and Floriculture, Skierniewice, Poland as part of the EU project PomoCentre and under the auspices of the CIGR, PTIR and PIORiN. Oral presentations and posters were presented by speakers from Europe as well as the US, NZ, Australia, China and Israel.

5-9 October - 2nd European Whitefly Symposium, Cvatat, Croatia. This event followed on from the first symposium, held in Ragusa, Sicily, in March 2001. It was co-ordinated by Mrs Liz Robertson at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK, where the European Whitefly Studies Network (EWSN) is also based.

15 October - Journée d’Information sur la Réglementation des Produits Phytosanitaires (Information Day on the Regulation of Pesticide Products) –  held in Montpellier. Due to rapidly evolving legislation in France and Europe, this was the third seminar on this subject that had been held by the French plant protection association, AFPP. Celine Barthet attended and reported in the November edition of CPM.

19-20 October  -  The 26th Jornadas de Productos Fitosanitarios, Barcelona, Spain. This was organised by the Institut Quimíc de Sarrià. A report of the 2002 conference can be viewed in the archives (CPM, November 2002). Jose Marie Lopez attended this conference and reported in the December issue of CPM.

20-21 October - European Chemicals Policy - Registration, Authorisation & Liability in Brussels. This conference brings together the  regulators involved in the development and eventual implementation of the New Chemicals Policy and industry personnel responsible for ensuring compliance.

25-28 October - Registration of Agrochemicals in an Enlarged Europe in Brussels. A  two day meeting that considered the new regulatory challenges in Europe combined with two interactive workshops on compiling Caddy dossiers and surface water modelling. Bill Pickering attended and reported on data protection and environmental risk assessment in the December edition of CPM.

26 October  -  Making pesticides easier to use and more effective - a one-day conference being held at 14/15 Belgrave Square, London by the Pest Management Group of the Society of Chemical Industry. A good mix of speakers from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands addressing issues such as pesticide formulation development, closed systems, transferable packs, nozzle design and operator exposure.

28-29 October -  International Fresenius Conference - GM Crops and Food in Cologne, Germany, organised by Akademie Fresenius

1-3 November  - BCPC Interlinked Crop Science Seminars

A series of six highly topical, in-depth and complementary seminars were  held from  Monday 1 November  to Wednesday 3 November . The seminars  focused on five Crop Science & Technology themes.

• Food - Joining up the Links in the Food Chain
• Sustainable Water and Agriculture
• Crop Production and Protection
• Health & Well-Being
• New Technologies: Biotechnology

In addition, there was a cross-theme seminar on EU-Funded Research. The Seminars provided a forum for unbiased, scientific debate and discussion based around papers given by carefully selected invited speakers and was held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow (http://www.bcpc.org). Martin Redbond attended this conference and reported in the November edition of CPM.

8-12 November  -  ISAA2004 Adjuvant Symposium  
The 7th International Symposium on Adjuvants for Agrochemicals  (ISAA2004) was held for the first time in Africa at the new Cape Town International Convention Centre. The event  included plenary sessions, poster sessions, workshops and a trade exhibition. This symposium, (www.ISAA2004.com), is held every three years. The 6th symposium was held in Amsterdam (Crop Protection Monthly, August 2001). Alan Baylis reported on 7th Symposium in the December issue of CPM.

30 November - Environmental and Human Health Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals - organised by the BioActive Science Group of the Society of Chemical Industry .

2 December - ADME for Ag - Predicting and designing physicochemical properties for crop protection agents.

The meeting has been organised as part of the celebration of 50 years of the Pest Management Group of the Society of Chemical Industry and to recognise the outstanding contribution made to the crop protection industry by Dr Geoff Briggs.

2-3 December - 4th Fresenius ECOTOX Conference -  Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecotoxicology and Risk Management, organised by Akademie Fresenius in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, Germany

8-10 December - Nineteenth International COLUMA Conference on Weed Control

This conference is being held in Dijon, France, by the French plant protection association, AFPP. A French/English simultaneous translation will be provided. The18th COLUMA Conference was held three years ago, as reported in CPM December 2001

15-17 December - Advances in applied biology: providing new opportunities for consumers and producers in the 21st century - to be held at St Catherine's College, Oxford University.

This conference is being held by the Association of Applied Biologists as part of its centenary programme of events in 2004. The AAB's Grand Centenary Dinner will be held during the conference on the evening of 16 December.

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