Key African agri-research society accelerates revival effort

A painstaking effort aimed at revitalising a critical African research association previously seen as waning is bearing fruit, thanks to renewed determination to recruit members and an upcoming annual conference in September 2024 – the 13th African Crop Science Society (ACSS) conference.

The 30-year-old association which, despite its woes, has been in a position to regularly publish its African Crop Science Journal, will be launching online registration for members ahead of the conference to be hosted by the Eduardo Mondlane University (EMU) in Maputo, Mozambique, from 16-19 September.

The university will host the event in collaboration with Mozambique’s Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM) and other higher education institutions in Mozambique. Other co-hosts include the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Gaza and the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Manica, two Mozambican higher education institutions that offer several BSc and MSc courses in agriculture and carry out research, extension and business incubation activities.

The EMU is the oldest higher education public institution in Mozambique, founded in 1962, and the IIAM is the only public national agricultural research organisation in the country.

Annual general meeting

It is expected that more than 400 scientists, researchers (including academia and innovators), farmers, entrepreneurs and agribusinesses, educators, and policymakers involved in agricultural-related value chains from all over Africa will attend, said Professor Luisa Santos, ACSS president.

The ACSS annual general meeting (AGM) will also take place during the conference. “At the AGM, new board members will be elected, bylaws approved, and the next conference’s organisers will be selected,” Santos said.

“Over the years, the conferences were characterised by a significant increase in the number of participants, the scope and relevance of thematic discussions, as well as the scientific value of papers and posters,” she told University World News. A number of webinars will be organised with “strategic partners” before the conference, she disclosed.

The local organising committee has already issued instructions for submitting abstracts, with April 30 set as the submission deadline.

To be held under the theme, ‘Crop research and innovation for agricultural transformation, resilience and inclusion’, the Maputo meeting will also provide a platform for sharing and discussing research results that bring solutions towards enhancing agricultural development in Africa.

The first ACSS conference was held in 1993, and 12 such conferences have been held in eight different African countries – Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Mozambique, Santos said.