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Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Academy of Agriculture of France
18.8. 2016
“We don’t know which books they will read, if the read books at all.
We don’t know what cars they will drive, if they drive cars at all.
We don’t know to what music the people will listen, if they listen to music at all.
But one thing we know for sure. Even in 250 years time people will have to eat and agriculture is very likely to be as important as it is now and as it was 250 years ago.
I would like to end with a quote by the Harvard anthropologist Timothy Weiskel:
There is no such thing as a post-agricultural society”
Commemoration of 250th anniversary of the Academy of Agriculture of France European symposium
Which future for agronomic research in Europe?
Since its inception, the French Academy of Agriculture (AAF) has kept in touch with similar academies in Europe. As a matter of fact, most of the latter were founded also at the end of the 18th century, the age of “Enlightenment”. It was a time of confidence in Science, the elite wishing it to play a central role in Society.
Two hundred and fifty years later, the confidence in Science has weakened. Agriculture and food sciences are affected all the same. Yet, we must continue to develop new techniques to overcome the tremendous problems posed by depleting natural resources and a growing world population. For that, we need research. To be fruitful, research must be free. At the same time, it must be supervised to avoid hasty application of unsecured findings, as well as to make the best use of scarce resources.
Agronomic research faces these difficulties and challenges all over Europe. This is the reason why the AAF has seized the opportunity of its 250th anniversary for inviting sister European academies to discuss the matter in this Symposium held under the aegis of the Union of European Academies of Agriculture (UEAA).
Prof. O. Christen (President, German Dachverbands Agrarforshcung): Agriculture research between tradition and new challenges
As the acting president of the umbrella association of all German scientific agricultural societies, which in total have a membership of more than 20.000 colleagues, I would like to congratulate the Academy of Agriculture of France sincerely to this outstanding anniversary.
Dr. P. Sylwan (Royal Swedish Acad. of Agriculture and Forestry) “Return to Eden: the role of Science in creating a sustainable agriculture for the future”
Facing the future. The challenges that has to be faced in future food production are enormous. In 2050 we will be another 3 billion humans on the Earth – our common home in space. Then we will need 50 – 100% more available food to affordable prices – in less than 40 years !
Prof. B. Rivza, Dr., Ieva Brence (Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences) “Unanswered questions by reserch in the field of food safety and quality”
Food maintains being one of the most necessary factors in our lives. Regardless the fact on whether the live in order to eat or eat in order to live, food shall be used daily by each member of society. Research on food issues develops in interaction with overall science development, nevertheless, there are number of questions that remain important in scientific research, inter alia food safety and quality that involve many subordinated themes, e.g. scarcity of food and water resources in several regions….
Prof. Mariusz K. Piskula (Polish Academy of Sciences) “Agricultural Biodeiversity for Consumer Needs”
The perspective from which we look at and how we understand the relation between agrobiodiversity vs. nutrition and health depends on where….
Ivan Ushachev (Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences) “NATIONAL AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY: STATUS AND PROBLEMS”
Mgr. Jan Lipavský, CSc., Ing. Václav Hrubý, CSc. (Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Prague) “FINANCING OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND RESEARCH”
Dr. M. Simula (Finnish Academy of Science and Letters) “Challenges facing European forestry research”
“Au nom de l’Académie des sciences et des lettres de Finlande, j’aimerais tout d’abord, féliciter l’Académie d’Agriculture de France à l’occasion de son 250ème anniversaire, et comme je suis le seul intervenant du secteur forestier de cette table ronde, je voudrais également souligner la grande valeur de la recherche française en matière de gestion durable des forêts tempérées et tropicales.”
Prof. B. Gaina (Moldavian Academy of sciences): “International cooperation and impacts of results on agricultural development in Moldavia”
Prof. F. Scaramuzzi (Italian Accademia dei georgofili): “National and global food security, quality and safety”
Prof. G. Sin (President, Romanian Academy of Agricultural and Forest Sciences Gheorge Ionescu-Sisesti): “Synergies and potential conflicts between food, fodder fibers and fuels”
10/01/2016