http://www.agropolis.fr/agro2010/index.html

The XIth ESA congress creates the opportunity to organise an International Scientific Week, AGRO2010 Montpellier, combining several symposia around agronomic research and its contribution to sustainable development.

The objectives of AGRO2010 are to:

• demonstrate the scientific coherence, ambitions and contribution of Agronomy as a science ;

• work with other disciplines on the definition of new frontiers in interdisciplinary research, especially with Integrative Plant Biology, Soil and Hydrology, Ecology and Plant Protection, Economy and Social Sciences, Computer and Artificial Intelligence…;

• make a scientific contribution to the burning questions of 2010 with regards to agriculture and its contribution to sustainable development and natural resource management. In addition to climate change and energy crops, it is likely that the co-existence of food and non food uses in farming systems or the design of “ecologically intensive” cropping systems will be among these burning questions in 2010;

• discuss with farm advisors, technical institutes, stakeholders and decision makers how Agronomic Research can be made more operational to contribute to sustainable development;

• attract more students and young scientists to work on the type of questions and with the type of approaches we develop in our research.

In the name of the organizing and scientific committees, I look forward to welcoming you in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, to discover the world’s greatest concentration of skills and expertise in fields related to agriculture, food, biodiversity, environment and rural societies, open to the development of the Mediterranean and tropical regions.