CRAWFORD SEMINARS & cONFERENCES

The Crawford Fund has been involved in a range of innovative and provocative events on vital aspects of development. These events would not be possible without support from a range of other organisations such as ATSE, ACIAR, AusAID, AFFA, CSIRO and a range of international agricultural research centres. Listed below are Crawford Fund's six most recent seminars:

Biofuels, Energy and Agriculture: Powering Towards or Away from Food Security?
Parliament House, Canberra 15 August 2007
Keynote speakers:
Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute
Lord Ron Oxburgh, Member, House of Lords, UK: Chairman of D1 Oils plc, and former Chairman of Shell UK
The conference addressed the range of issues for developing countries and for Australia due to the growing interest in biofuels with an up-to-date assessment of what current and future biofuels technologies offer, what they can do for lifting farmers' incomes, the possible trade-off in reduced food supplies and higher food prices, and the need for international agricultural research to mitigate any downsides and identify options for the sustainable production and use of biofuels.

Water for Irrigated Agriculture & The Environment
Parliament House, Canberra 16 August 2006
Keynote speaker: Dr Frank Rijsberman, Director General, Interantional Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka
The conference emphasised the challenges of providing irrigation water for agriculture during the next 20 years: the potential impact of water shortages, including the effects of climate change, on the distribution and productivity of food crops in the Asia-Pacific region and Australia; and the need for ongoing international agricultural research to mitigate these effects and identify options for the future.

Forests, Wood & Livelihoods
Parliament House, Canberra 16 August 2005
Keynote speaker: Dr David Kaimowitz, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor, Indonesia
The conference focussed on forests, and specifically on the challenge of finding a balance between the world's competing demands for forest products and services, and the ability of natural and plantation forests to supply them.

Fish, Aquaculture and Food Security
Parliament House, Canberra 11 August 2004
Keynote speaker: Dr Meryl Williams, Immediate Past Director-General, WorldFish Center, Penang, Malaysia: former Director, Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Executive Officer, Future Harvest Alliance Office
This conference was the first time that our annual conference has emphasised marine resources.

It involved discussion from international and national experts on the state of the world's wild fisheries, the need to sustain marine and other aquatic environments for fish, and the importance of supplying fish for human consumption.

The Livestock Revolution: A Pathway from Poverty?
Parliament House, Canberra 13 August 2003
Keynote speaker: Dr Carlos Sere, Director General, International Livestock Research Institute
This conference informed and generated debate on the value of livestock to small holder farmers in developing countries, the concerns that surround livestock production and the trade and marketing of livestock products, and including the challenges of feeding the rapidly increasing numbers of livestock, managing the disease problems and managing the environmental and animal welfare issues.

The conference was dedicated as a tribute to Professor Derek Tribe, The ATSE Crawford Fund's founding Executive Director, who passed away this year. Derek was the impetus behind the establishment of the highly innovative International Livestock Centre for Africa in the early 1970s (now the International Livestock Research Institute - ILRI).

Food for the Future:Opportunities for a Crowded Planet
Parliament House, Canberra 8 August 2002
Keynote speaker: Dr Gordon Conway, President, The Rockefeller Foundation
It is without question that feeding the world's growing population is a serious challenge that requires all that science and technology has to offer if greater food security, sustainable development and, most importantly, world stability, is to be achieved. The 2002 international conference raised the range of options and issues related to increasing food production; informed and generated debate on the opportunities for conventional breeding technologies, biotechnology, and GM foods to bridge the gap between the future food supply and demand; and canvassed a range of technical, humanitarian, social and ethical issues associated with this technology.

Past Achievements and Future Directions of Australian Agriculture
Parliament House, Canberra 12 September 2001
This joint seminar with the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology included the inaugural Crawford Fund Derek Tribe Award Address by winner Dr Sanjaya Rajaram, Director of the Wheat Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Prosper or Perish :Asian Poverty and the Australian Economy
Parliament House, Canberra 28 June 2001
Keynote speaker: Mr Ian Johnson, Vice President, World Bank and Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
The 2001 conference provided an opportunity to discuss how the export of Australia's knowledge to developing countries, targeting the rural sector, not only through development assistance but also through business relationships, can help raise the incomes and buying power of poor people.

Pathways to Sustainble Forest Management
Ubud, Bali, 5-8 June 2001
Proceedings of the Second Hermon Slade International Workshop
This series of workshops on sustainable forest management has been made possible through generous support from the Hermon Slade Foundation for the Crawford Fund. The Foundation is a philanthropic organization endowed by the late Mr George Hermon Slade, AM, which seeks to stimulate scientific research in the natural sciences.

The Center for International Forestry Research, based in Bogor, contributed much to the success of the workshop in Bali. In addition to presentations by several members of staff to the proceedings, facilities and contacts provided by the Center greatly assisted the organizers of the meeting.

Food, Water and War: Security in a World of Conflict
Parliament House, Canberra 15 August 2000
Keynote speaker: Admiral Chris Barrie, Chief of the Australian Defence Forces
The 2000 conference highlighted the issue of security outside the military dimension. National and international speakers discussed how hungry people become discontented people who are more readily swayed by 'conflict entrepreneurs'. Thus, the collapse of food security can quickly lead to the collapse of local, national or regional security in the wider sense.

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