Following on from the success of the 2016 ISSAAS, Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) in collaboration with the Vietnam ISSAAS, the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences (ISSAAS), Society for Agricultural Education Research Development Abroad (SEADA), and Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA), successfully hosted the 2017 ISSAAS International Congress and General Meeting (ISSAAS) 2017 on October 14 and 15, 2017. This year’s theme is “Green Agriculture in Southeast Asia: Theories and Practices”.
In this year’s congress, there were a total of 238 international participants, including researchers, managers, lecturers, research fellows and students from different universities, research institutes, and orgarnizations in the field of agriculture from Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. In addition, Vietnamese congress participants mainly consist of lecturers, researchers, and graduate students from Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Nha Trang University, and Tay Bac University. Besides that, some VNUA lecturers, PhD students of Belgian and German universities, also participated in the congress.
At the opening ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong (VNUA’s vice president), on behalf of the Vietnam ISSAAS delivered the opening remarks and expressed our honor to host the fourth ISSAAS International Congress since 2004 and the second consecutive ISSAAS Congress at the university with the participants from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. The vice president also emphasized that the congress was the golden opportunity for the university lecturers, researchers, and students to develop agricultural research networks, thereby contributing to improve VNUA’s position and enhancing the cooperation with other partners in the region and in the world.
At the opening ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong also emphasized the objectives and meaning of the Congress and Meeting, and showed his belief into the sustainable development of the network of scientists, managers, researchers, lecturers, and students of the countries in the region, especially in Southeast Asia with the aim of collaborating and sharing knowledge and experiences in applying scientific advances for the development of the agriculture sector at both regional level and global level.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong, VNUA’s vice president, on behalf of the Vietnam ISSAAS, delivered the opening remarks |
At the Congress, the representatives of the six national ISSAAS associations, including Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam ISSAAS reported their national ISAAS’s activities during the year 2017. Afterwards, the six experts presented a review report and research on green and sustainable agriculture practices in each country.
Representativesof 06nationalISSAASassociations fromJapan, Indonesia, Malaysia,thePhilippines,Thailand andVietnamgave report presentations at the plenary session |
During the two days of the congress, there were a total of 210 scientific studies presented, in which there were 158 papers and 49 posters. These studies focused on the following main disciplines: (1) Plant science in response to climate change; (2) Integrated pest management; (3) Natural resource and environment management; (4) Value chain for food and agricultural product; (5) Aquatic Science; (6) Agro-engineering; (7) Animal life science and veterinary medicine; (8) Agricultural science in society and economy; and (9) Boundary agriculture. At the five specialized sub-committees, the participants had the chance to share their knowledge about agricultural issues and exchange eperiences in the research and application of scientific advances, and discuss effective solutions for developing sustainable agriculture for each country.
National and international congress participants
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At the closing session, Prof. Dr. Tran Duc Vien, the interim chairperson of the ISSAAS thanked the support of the ISSAAS, Tokyo University of Agriculture (Japan) and other national ISSAAS associations, and gave the sourvenir flag to the representative of the Malaysia ISSAAS. The Malaysia ISSAAS will next host the 2018 ISSAAS congress.
Prof. Dr. Tran Duc Vien, theinterim chairperson of the ISSAAS gave the sourvenir flag to the representative of the Malaysia ISSAAS
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It can be said that the 2017 International Congress ISSAAS helped Vietnam National University of Agriculture to expand and strengthen collaboration, and facilitate research networks between VNUA and and other universities, research institutes, and international organization within the region, and also helped to enhance knowledge and research capacities for the university lecturers and researchers.