The CGIAR Science Council, The Alliance and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) are in partnership organizing The Science Forum 2009. The Science Forum will be co-sponsored and hosted by Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR) in The Netherlands, on 16-17 June 2009.

The Science Forum 2009 will be the first in a series of biennial science fora to be organized as part of the Science Councils drive to catalyze the mobilization of science towards CGIAR goals and objectives. The 2009 Forum will focus on innovative science and the arrangements that can help to mobilize it more effectively to address poverty alleviation and sustainable natural resource management.

Science Forum 2009 Program [download the program]

The program will feature leading practitioners introducing a foreward looking perspective on research needs to increase the resilience and productivity of agricultural and natural resource systems. During the first day, discussion in parallel workshops will focus on research that is still at the advanced research stage, but has potential to deliver significant impact in 15 years and beyond; the second day will consider a 5-10 year timeframe, focusing on promising research that needs greater investment and essential partnerships to deliver impact.

The 6 Parallel workshops can be found below:
1. Resilient natural resource systems
2. The future of food: developing more nutritious diets and safer food
3. Changing the Emperor: ICTs transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation
4. Beyond the yield curve: exerting the power of genetics, genomics and synthetic biology
5. Eco-efficiencies in agro-ecosystems
6. Agriculture beyond food science for a biobased economy

Should you wish to know more about the upcoming Science Forum 2009, please click here.