McGill Conference on Global Food Security – October 16-18, 2012

McGill Conference on Global Food Security – October 16-18, 2012

Fifth Annual McGill Conference on Global Food Security – “Food Prices and Political Instability”

Join speakers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas as they gather at McGill University from October 16-18, 2012 for the Fifth McGill Conference on Global Food Security. The Conference will kick off on October 16 with a Public Lecture featuring a keynote speaker, followed by two days of presentations and panel discussions.

International experts, scholars, and policy makers will present their unique perspectives on Food Prices and Political Instability, their on-going efforts to provide a better quality of life for 2-billion of the world’s poorest, and engage in a dialogue to find long-term solutions.

The 2012 McGill Conference on Global Food Security promises to inspire, engage and address the many risks and threats to food security that profoundly impact millions around the globe.

Come and be a part of this unique 3-day event! Held at McGill’s New Residence Hall, participants will have the opportunity to hear the distinct perspectives of our panel of experts. Each session will invoke thoughtful discussion and debate. We are pleased to announce that there will once again be a student panel at this year’s conference.

Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this exceptional event.

Registration is now open. Seating is limited; pre-registration is required.

Registration fee includes lunches, breaks and a networking cocktail.

For more information and to register to this event please visit the conference website

Program

Registration

Email : globalfoodsecurity@mcgill.ca

AwF Directors meet in Prague at AQUA 2012

While attending AQUA 2012 in Prague, several AwF Directors took the opportunity to meet and discuss issues of importance to the organization. Michael New, OBE, founder and patron of AwF, also attended.

Roy Palmer supplied the group photo below.

From Left: Roy Palmer, Jose Fernandez-Polanco, Geoff Allan, Patrick Sorgeloos, Kevin Fitzsimmons, Peter Edwards, David Little and Michael New. Missing: Pierre Erwes and Sungchul (Charles) Bai

New AwF-Arizona Farmer to Farmer Grant

AwF and the University of Arizona have been awarded a second project to support Farmer to Farmer assignments to work with small scale aquaculture in Kenya and Mexico.

AwF volunteers will travel to Kenya and Mexico to assist local AwF partners to share techniques for sustainable aquaculture. Special emphasis will be on best management practices with freshwater and brackish water fish culture.

The funds are from the US Agency for International Development.

AwF’s Past-Chairman, Kevin Fitzsimmons, will co-ordinate the project. Registered AwF volunteers, who are also US citizens and interested to assist the project should contact Dr. Fitzsimmons.

A copy of the proposal outlining the work to be undertaken can be viewed by clicking here.

Student-organized fundraiser for AwF at AQUA 2012 in Prague

AwF director David Little has coordinated with European Aquaculture Society (EAS) and World Aquaculture Society (WAS) student groups to organize a raffle with proceeds to benefit AwF’s mission of alleviating poverty through aquaculture.

The students wanted to have a clear use for the funds raised and have selected the 1000 day movement to draw attention to the importance of nutrition in early childhood development.

Benedikt Frenzl, president of the EAS students and a student at the University of Stirling, created a flyer to promote the raffle and the objective of the fundraiser – The 1000 Day Initiative: Making the link between aquaculture and the vulnerable. The slogan being used is Fish – Our contribution to a healthier nutrition for children. A copy of this flyer will be in each delegate’s conference bag.

Please support this great initiative as generously as you can afford, and thank these students for rising to such a challenge.

AwF Financial Summary 2003-2012 now available

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that a financial summary of the income and expenditures of AwF from its founding in 2003 until May 31, 2012 is available on our website. To view the report, click here.

In reviewing this summary, we hope that those that have supported AwF over the years will be encouraged to continue, knowing that we have achieved so much with the donations they have provided. For those just learning about AwF, we hope you will be inspired to contribute generously to enhancing our capacity to fulfil our mission.

Aquaculture Elsevier Conference, 3-7 November 2013, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain

The Aquaculture Elsevier Conference: To the Next 40 Years of Sustainable Global Aquaculture, will be held 3-7 November 2013 at the Palacio de Congresos de Canarias in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain.

This conference will not only celebrate the last 40 years of outstanding science accomplishments in aquaculture it will identify the top science challenges for the next generation of global aquaculture. The conference will be essential for helping assist in a generational change to new leaders for the next science accomplishments needed to double global aquaculture production. You should attend if you are at the cutting edge of science understanding genetics, diseases, feeds, ecological interactions, and sustainable systems.

Sessions

• Aquaculture hatcheries: Science advances and future research needs
• Combining marker assisted selection with classic selection programs
• Transdisciplinary research needs for the expansion of aquaculture in rural economies
• Raw materials and feed ingredients needed for the future of aquaculture
• Interactions of aquaculture and the environment
• Research institutions and research strategies in aquaculture

Abstracts now being accepted, please visit conference website.

Vietnamese fish farms seek greener model

In the last five decades, world fish supply has outpaced global population growth, and today fish provides more than 4.3 billion people with about 15 percent of their intake of animal protein, according to FAO’s latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report. In 2010, people consumed about 128 million tonnes of fish. Stimulated by higher demand for fish, world fisheries and aquaculture production is projected to reach about 172 million tonnes in 2021, with most of the growth coming from aquaculture – one of the fastest-growing food producing sectors.

A new report from the Food for 9 billion series explores the search for a more eco-friendly fish farming model in Viet Nam: Scaling up: Vietnamese fish farms search for eco-friendly formula

After nine years AwF (UK) consolidates its activities

After the concept of Aquaculture without Frontiers was discussed at a World Aquaculture Society conference in Brazil in 2003, AwF was registered in the UK [AwF (UK)] and in the USA [AwF] and was launched by its founder, Michael New OBE, at the WAS conference in Hawaii in 2004.

Recently the trustees of AwF (UK) decided to close its charity in Great Britain in order to consolidate all the activities of our not-for-profit organisation within the international AwF. All the remaining funds of AwF (UK) were transferred to AwF in June 2012. Michael New remains the Founder and Patron of AwF, which is managed by a fifteen-member international board of directors. 

Haiti: Sustainable Aquaculture Initiative progress report

We are pleased to post the Sustainable Aquaculture Initiative progress report received from Bill Mebane at the Marine Biological Lab about the Aquaculture Learning Center (ALC) in Marigot, Haiti. According to the report, there were about 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of fish in the tanks at the end of May.

For more information about this project, please visit the updated website.

AwF, in collaboration with Novus International, has provided support to this project.

AwF (UK) financial report for 2011-2012 now available

Michael New, AwF Founder and Patron, has submitted the financial report for AwF (UK); it can be found on our Reports page or by clicking here.

AwF (UK) supported an aquaculture project in Kenya during the 2011-2012 FY and has commitments to complete financial support to projects in India and Nepal once the final project reports have been received.

Since most activities are now being carried out by Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), the directors of AwF (UK) have agreed to wind up the charity – AwF (UK) – and route all further fund raising and project activities through AwF.

AwF (UK) income in 2011-2012 declined, as it did in the previous three financial years, partly as a result of the current recession, which affects all charities. Other causes were recorded in the report for 2010-2011.