First World Congress on Root and Tuber Crops will draw international scientists to Southern China
Hundreds of the world’s top experts on potato, cassava, sweetpotato, yam, and other root crops will gather in Nanning, Guangxi province, southern China, 5-10 October, for the
First World Congress on Root and Tuber Crops. The event is the result of a collaboration between the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC) and the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21), both of which are supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB).
“China is a key location for roots and tubers: it’s the first potato and sweetpotato producer in the world,” explained Graham Thiele, RTB Director. “I expect that ISTRC and GCP21 – both close partners of our research program – will draw several hundreds of participants to the Congress. This should help to advance the agenda for potato, sweetpotato, cassava, yam and other roots and tubers, all of which are important in developing countries.”
Root and tuber crops are essential food staples for hundreds of millions and generate significant income for industry. However, scientists agree that further research is needed to help farmers and businesses fully tap their potential.
- Some potato and sweetpotato cultivars are especially promising, thanks to their high vitamin and mineral content. Orange-fleshed sweetpotato, in particular, can dramatically improve the health of children and mothers in poor areas, thanks to the high content of beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. Some potato cultivars are rich in zinc, iron, and antioxidants: millions of people don’t consume enough of these micronutrients.
- Cassava, a starchy root crop that can be grown in poor soils, is raising a lot of interest, given its resilience to climate change. Although cassava is consumed by about 700 million people today, it is expected to feed more than 2 billion people by 2050. There is also a growing dem and for cassava from industries in Africa and Asia.
- Other root crops, such as yam, taro, and cocoyam, are traditional staples that play an important role in food security and income generation. They would benefit producers and consumers much more if their full potential were tapped.
“The Congress will be a good opportunity to share information on major advances in yam research since the first global conference on that crop in Accra in 2013,” said Robert Asiedu, Director for West Africa of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
‘The theme of the Congress is
Adding Value. This is appropriate given that – despite their importance – investment has been much lower in root and tuber research than for cereal crops. Roots and tubers play an important role in food security and nutrition; they hold great potential for improving incomes through direct sales or value-addition via processing for food and non-food uses. Consequently participants will discuss appropriate processing technologies and business enterprise models for developing nations. They will exchange information on themes ranging from varietal selection and pest and disease control to the delivery to processors and markets but with special attention to gender issues and planning for climate change.
Keith Tomlins, ISTRC President and a professor at UK’s Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, explained, “ISTRC fully supports the objectives and theme of the Congress as this is a key policy of the Society. This is our 17th triennial symposium, and the first time that ISTRC has been involved in a meeting in China. We are very excited by the opportunity and the Chinese Local Organizing Committee has made us feel very welcome. We appreciate working with GCP21 and very much look forward to the Congress.”
The Congress in Nanning will be the third scientific conference for GCP21 which brought together some of the world’s top cassava experts in Ghent, Belgium (2008) and Kampala, Ug anda (2012). Claude Fauquet, Director of GCP21, explained that participation had increased significantly from 2008 to 2012 and he expected a large number of the world’s cassava community to gather in China.
“It will be an excellent opportunity to convene African and Asian scientists, technicians, and developers so they can learn from one other,” said Fauquet. “It will also be a great opportunity for the public and private sectors to meet and generate new activities. We have the momentum to make this First Congress on Root and Tuber Crops a real success for the benefit of the global community.”
Pre-registration for the Congress is currently open via the
conference website. Full registration and
abstract submissionwill open by 1 May and the Travel Grant Program by 15 April. Attendance is limited to 750, so early registration is advised.
National partners for the event include the Guangxi Academy of Sciences (GXAS), the Guangxi Cassava Research Institute (GCRI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences (CATAS).
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ISTRC: The International Society for Tropical Root Crops was created to foster, stimulate and support any type of activity leading to the general improvement of world tropical root crop production and utilization. Created in 1967, it has an international m andate, through its membership and constitution, to help improve the research and development of cassava, sweetpotato, yam, taro, potato, and other root crops. As the forum for bringing together those involved in root and tuber crops, it supports, in particular, early-career scientists.
http://www.istrc.org/
GCP21: The Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century is an independent non-profit organization collaborating with several CGIAR Research Programs and an array of research and development (R&D) organizations working with cassava around the world. GCP21 organizes meetings and conferences on a variety of topics aimed at filling gaps in R&D, promoting international funding for cassava R&D, triggering the production of industrial products from cassava, and providing a range of information about the crop and the scientists working on it. The goal of GCP21 is to increase cassava productivity in the world.
http://ciat.cgiar.org/gcp21
RTB: The CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas is an international collaboration of agricultural research centers working on cassava, potato, sweetpotato, yam, banana, plantain and other roots and tubers that aims to improve the food security, nutrition and livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest families. It combines the expertise and resources of the International Potato Center (CIP) as the lead center, Bioversity International, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and French partners represented by the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).
www.rtb.cgiar.org
CATAS: The Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences (with headquarters in Haikou) is a national academy specifically for tropical and subtropical agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) of the Chinese government. CATAS leads cassava research in China in multiple aspects including germplasm conservation and evaluation, breeding and planting technology, basic research on the molecular mechanism of high starch accumulation and tolerance to drought, based on genomics, transcriptomics and genomic breeding and the evaluation and diagnosis of pests and diseases. There are two principal cassava research programs: the Chinese Cassava Industry Technology System funded by MOA and the National Basic Research Program of China funded by MOST.
GCRI: the Guangxi Cassava Research Institute is the second agricultural institute working on cassava in China. It was established in 2009 as Guangxi has been for more than 25 years a very important province for cassava production, accounting for more than 70% of the country’s production. The province is also very strong in the development of the processing industry with major products such as starch and alcohol. Major research activities in GCRI are breeding, cultivation practices, extension technologies, biotechnology, comprehensive utilization (animal feed, human food, further use of by-products, etc.), rural economic development approaches based on cassava as an important income resource, and technical training.
