The meeting held on October 5-8, 2014 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada brought together 397 participants from over 60 countries. It was hosted by Ag-West Bio, Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association. Mr.Ogero’s poster titled “Enhancing Farmers’ Access to Disease-free Sweetpotato Planting Materials through Low cost Tissue Culture for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation in Eastern Africa” is on efforts geared towards reducing the cost of production in tissue culture which was the focus of his MSc research. There were 31 entries in the poster competition with 19 of them being evaluated under the Environment/Food Security category. Other categories included Emerging Technologies and Agricultural Policies/Regulatory Issues. Kwame is a Regional Research Associate based in Mwanza, Tanzania under the Kinga Marando project whose goal is to increase farmers’ access to virus-free sweetpotato vines using low cost net tunnels that protect the plants from attack by insect pests. He was among Four International participants sponsored by ABIC Foundation to participate in the Tomorrow’s Leaders Forum held on October 7, 2014 during the conference. The Forum was a platform for young scientists to share their views and experiences on the role of science, technology and innovations in global food security. It was supported by the Global Institute for Food Security with the University of Saskatchewan, University of Alberta and University of Calgary.
ABIC is the premier global meeting which promotes innovation in bioscience to ensure sustainable food, feed, and fibre security amid changing climatic conditions. Held annually, ABIC encourages international collaborations across public and private sectors. Delegates come to network, learn and discuss issues of relevance, particularly for agricultural biotech policy and research enterprises for the good of the whole planet. The theme of ABIC 2014 was Global Leadership in a Changing World, with three streams: Innovation, Impact and Strategies. About 42 world-renowned experts made presentations spanning the three streams. The keynote address was delivered by Julie Borlaug, Associate Director for External Relations at the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. Next year’s edition will be held on September 7-9, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.
Kwame (2nd Right) and winners in the other categories posing with the Chair of the Judging Panel, Dr. Reno Pontarollo (Right), CEO & President, Genome Prarie
Panelists in the Tomorrow’s Leaders Forum with Dr. Janice Tranberg (in red jacket), Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Saskatchewan and Prof. Maurice Moloney (4th right), Executive Director, Global Institute for Food Security.