Phl to host ARD2014

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – The ASEAN region’s food system will be the focus of an international conference to be hosted by the Philippines from Nov. 12-13, 2014.

Development-2014 in Southeast Asia (ARD2014) centers on the theme “Strengthening  Resilience, Equity, and Integration in ASEAN Food and Agriculture Systems”             

The top-level assembly will be convened in partnership with and cooperation of various institutions across the world through co-sponsorships under the auspices of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).              

SEARCA, headed by director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr., will be hosted by the Philippine government and  the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).              

To be held at Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, ARD2014 is expected to be attended by about 400 scientists, academics, government policymakers, local government executives, farmer leaders and practicing farmers, representatives of civil society, and other interested stakeholders.              

Registration in the conference will have an “early bird” option, offering  registration fee discounts if they sign in before Sept. 15. Regular registration will be until Oct, 31.              

The conference would provide a venue for sharing the wide and diverse knowledge pool on agriculture and rural development that exists within and beyond the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.             

Specifically, Saguiguit said, the conference would  highlight creative and innovative technological and practical approaches in the various processes of  the agriculture system, spanning the entire agriculture value chain from production through postharvest, processing,  marketing, transport, and logistics.              

ARD2014 wwould also showcase and derive useful lessons from institutional successes and failures in the management of the agriculture system and rural communities.               

Saguiguit added that the forum would  build on the “First International Conference on ARD in Asia: Issues, Paradigms, and Policies Three Decades After” convened  by SEARCA in Makati City in 2005.               

This year’s event would update this stock taking into consideration “new knowledge gained in the succeeding decade, while expanding the conference’s scope and participation to be both encompassing and inclusive,” Saguiguit  said.