First Symposium and Training Course of the Agrisafe European Union Funded Project

Announcement of the First Symposium and Training Course of the European Union-Funded Project Agrisafe

Climate change: challenge for the training of applied plant scientists

Symposium and Training Course I: Facts and Fictions

October 27–31 2008

Venue:
Agricultural Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-2462 Martonvásár Brunszvik u 2. Hungary
Phone: 36 22 569 500
Fax: 36 22 460 213
Web: www.agrisafe.eu

Climate variability has a fundamental influence on agro-ecosystems.

For a substantial part of Europe, climate change scenarios forecast significant decreases of up to 20% in plant productivity, coupled with a general decline in the stability of agricultural ecosystems. This is particularly true of the Carpathian Basin. Agriculture and food safety are extremely sensitive to climate changes, so adaptability to stress is likely to gain priority over the quantitative aspects of yield. This will demand new approaches both to plant breeding and crop production, and in research strategy.

The Agricultural Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ARI HAS) is one of the leading centres for crop research and breeding in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Central Transdanubian convergence region, with a profile involving complex, interdependent, basic, methodological and applied research projects culminating in practical applications.

The institute maintains close contacts with farmers and processors. Based on its international recognition and accumulated knowledge, the institute aims to develop into a regional Research Training and Service Centre to train and develop researchers, breeders and producers capable of offering practical help to farmers in Central and Eastern Europe in countering the unfavourable effects of predicted climate change. An increase in research potential is envisaged through strategic partnerships based on existing international contacts, whereby young scientists could gain valuable know-how and experience abroad, while experienced colleagues would be invited to work at ARI HAS. The results achieved in the course of the project will not only be published in the form of scientific papers, but will also form the basis of talks and pamphlets aimed at farmers and food consumers in general, in order to make them aware of the likely effects of climate change and of how these can be mitigated in the interests of achieving secure food supplies.

Invited speakers

• ISTVÁN LÁNG Preparing for climate changes in Hungary
• ZSOLT HARNOS Adaptation to climate change; national and European research projects
• HANS J WEIGEL High CO2 and drought stress
• TIBOR FARAGÓ Climate change and international cooperation
• JUDIT BARTHOLY Facing the changing climate: regional climate model estimations
• JÁNOS MIKA Global warming and projected changes in Europe
• LÁSZLÓ KORDOS Climatic, environmental and faunal changes in the past
• DÉNES DUDITS Transgenic strategies for improvement of drought tolerance of cereals to reduce the consequences of water limitations caused by climate changes
• ZOLTÁN BEDÔ Climate change: a challenge for plant breeders
• LÁSZLÓ VERMES Water scarcity and drought in the European Union and in Hungary
• MIKLÓS KERTÉSZ The ecological effect of climate change

 

Twenty young scientists (age limit 35) will be accepted for participation. Accepted participants will be provided with full board and accommodation along with partial travel support.

 

Programme

Monday, October 27

9.30 am              Opening of the Conference
                             Professor István Láng academician,
                             President of the Science Council of the Agricultural Research Institute of HAS

9.40 am              Welcome
                             Ottó Veisz, DSc,
                             Deputy Director, Agricultural Research Institute of the HAS, programme head,
                             The Agrisafe project

10.00 am            Professor Ernő Mészáros academician, professor emeritus
                             Atmospheric composition and climate

11.00 am            Professor Zsolt Harnos academician,
                             Deputy Rector of Corvinus University of Budapest
                             Adaptation to climate change: national and European research projects

12.00 am            Lunch

13.30 pm            Tibor Faragó, CSc,
                             Department Head, Ministry of Environment and Water
                             Climate change and international cooperation

14.30 pm            Professor Hans J Weigel, PhD
                             Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL), Institute of Agroecology,
                             Braunschweig, Germany
                             High CO2 and drought stress

15.30 pm           Coffee and tea break

16.00 pm           Film presentation: Al Gore: An inconvenient truth (DVD)

18.00 pm           Dinner

Tuesday, October 28

Leave Martonvásár by bus at 8.00 am

Joint FAO Workshop on Climate Change and European Agriculture in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest


Programme of the FAO Workshop


9.00 am              Opening
                             Ms. Maria Kadlecikova,
                             FAO Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia

                             Challenges related to climate change in Hungary and in the region

9.10 am              Tamás Németh academician,
                             Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
                              - theme to be determined

9.25 am             Mr. Ferenc Shirman,
                            State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
                             - theme to be determined

9.40 am             Professor István Láng academician,
                            Former Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
                            Getting prepared for climate change in Hungary

10.10 am            Professor Zoltán Bedő academician,
                             Director, Agricultural Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
                             Climate change: a challenge for plant breeders

10.20 am            Mr. Volker Sasse,
                             Forestry Officer, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia

                             FAO and climate change
                                 - High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy
                                 - FAO 26th Regional conference for Europe, Innsbruck, Austria, June 2008: Recommendations for Governments and for FAO
                                 - Forestry and climate change


10.30 am            Coffee and tea break

                             Climate change and policies for adjustment and adaptation

11.00 am            Ms. Marta Szigeti Bonifert,
                             Executive Director, Regional Environment Centre, Szentendre
                             Climate change and the environment

11.20 am             Mr. Tomasz Lonc,
                              Policy Officer, FAO Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe,
                              Budapest
                              Climate change and adaptation in agriculture: FAO approaches and activities

11.40 am            Closing of the Workshop

12.15 am            Refreshments

13.00 pm            Return to Martonvásár by bus

13.30 pm            Lunch at Martonvásár

14.30 pm            Professor László Vermes, DSc,
                             Head of the Department of Soil Science and Water Management, Corvinus University of Budapest
                             Water scarcity and drought in the European Union and in Hungary

16.00 pm            János Györgyey PhD, senior scientist,
                              Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Center of the HAS
                             Transgenic strategies for improvement of drought tolerance of cereals to reduce the consequences of water limitations caused by climate
                             change

18.00 pm            Dinner

Wednesday, October 29

9.00 am              János Mika, DSc
                             Head of the Climate Department, Hungarian Meteorological Service
                             Global warming and projected changes in Europe

10.00 am            Professor Judit Bartholy, DSc,
                             Head of the Department of Meteorology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
                             Facing the changing climate: regional climate model estimations

13.00 pm            Lunch

14.00 pm            Miklós Kertész, PhD,
                             Senior scientist, Department of Plant Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany
                             of the HAS
                             The ecological effect of climate change

15.00 pm            László Kordos, DSc,
                             Director, Geological Institute of Hungary
                             Climatic environmental and faunal changes in the past

16.00 pm            Coffee

16.30 pm            Professor Zoltán Bedő academician,
                             Director, Agricultural Research Institute of the HAS
                             Climate change a challenge for plant breeders

18.00 pm            Dinner

Thursday, October 30

One day visit in the National Meteorological Office
Leave Martonvásár by bus at 9.00 am

Friday, October 31

9.00 am              Endre Sebestyén, MSc,
                             Agricultural Research Institute of the HAS
                             Introductory to database handling

10.00 am            Béla Köszegi, PhD,
                             Senior scientist, Agricultural Research Institute of the HAS
                             Growth chamber facilities

                             András Bálint PhD,
                             Senior scientist, Agricultural Research Institute of the HAS
                             Rain shelter. Tools for climate change experiments on plants

13.00 pm            Lunch

14.00 pm            Depart

For participation request to fill in the application form.

Application deadline: September 30 2008

Accepted applicants will be informed by email by October 6 2008

The following symposiums and training courses are planned under the Agrisafe EU project over the next three-year period:
II. Impact of Climate Change on Crop Production
III. Influence of Global Warming on Abiotic and Biotic Stresses
IV. Challenge for Plant Breeding and the Biotech Response
V. Genetic Resources for Combating Climate Change
VI. Lessons Learned from the Past: a wrap-up conference on the climate change challenge for agriculture