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Steering Committee Zoom meeting Nitra

26 06 2023

Friday, March 17, 2023, from 10.00 a.m. Paris time, CET time


Attendees: Elena Horska, president (Slovak Academy of Agricultural Science), Ioan Jelev, vice-president (Rumanian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences), Michel Thibier (French Academy of Agriculture), Zenonas Dabkevičius (Lithuanian Academy of Sciences), Baiba Rizva (Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences), Kerstin Niblaeus (Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry), Tomas Garcia Azcarate (National Association of Agricultural Engineering, Spain), Evi Arachoviti (RASE/Royal Agricultural Society of England, Great Britain, Innovation for Agriculture), Nazim Gruda (Academy of Science of Albania), Vilem Podrazsky (Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Maria Salome Pais (Portugal, Lisbon Academy of Sciences). Simone Orlandini (member of the Scientific-Technical Committee of Academy of Georgofili, Italy). DUCLOS Michel Jacques (French Academy of Agriculture)
Absentees: Guram Aleksidze (Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences),

#1. Welcome address by President of UEAA E. Horská

President Elena Horská welcomed the participants of the SC meeting and asked for approval of the SC Agenda as follows:

    1. Welcome address by President.
    2. Approval of SC meeting Minutes (December, 16, 2022)
    3. Valedictory session: Thanks to prof. Michel Thibier and Dr. prof. Academician Guram Aleksidze, long-term members of SC UEAA and ex-presidents
    4. Welcoming new members/observers: prof. DUCLOS Michel Jacques, research director INRAE, prof. Anush Balian and vice-president NAAS Ukraine and Anatoli Giorgadze, Academician GAAS
    5. Official introduction of the Best Scientific Abstracts results UEAA Scientific competition and discussion with the winners.
      – Prof. Elena Horská,
      – prof. Michel Thibier,
      – prof. Guram Aleksidze,
      – reviewers, other UEAA SC members
      – discussion on further development
    6. Information about planned activities since last SC UEAA and for next term
      – Creation of EWG CAP after 2027
      – Forest strategy
      – Gene Editing
      – News from the EU Swedish Presidency and agriculture policy (if Kerstin’s OK)
      – Discussion about Moldova memberships.
    7. Planning of the Newsletters during next Term
    8. Planning for the UEAA web site; ”feeding” and redesign
    9. Miscellaneous
    10. Close of the meeting.

#2. Approval of SC meeting Minutes (December, 16, 2022)

All participating members agreed with minutes and voted for approval. Elena Horská thanked all for cooperation in this field.

#3. Valedictory session

During the Steering Committee Meeting on March 17, 2023 we thanked our colleagues, former UEAA Presidents, Prof. Michel Thibier (France) and prof. Guram Aleksidze (Georgia) for their many years of contribution to the development of UEAA. The vote of thanks was delivered by the Vice President of UEAA prof. Ioan Jelev (Romania) (in attachment at the end of document). The President of UEAA prof. Elena Horská (Slovakia) symbolically presented a letter of thanks and a bouquet of flowers and expressed her confidence that both colleagues will continue to follow the work of the UEAA and support us with their advice. Also, other members of SC UEAA expressed their gratitude for the many years of cooperation with prof. Michel Thibier and prof. Guram Aleksidze. and especially the significant contribution of prof. Michel Thibier to the creation of the UEAA and its functioning in favour of the development of cooperation between European associations in the field of agricultural sciences and food (Kerstin Niblaeus, and others). Prof. Michel Thibier thank to all and highlighted very good cooperation and team spirit in UEAA.

#4 Welcoming new members/observers

Prof. DUCLOS Michel Jacques, research director INRAE, prof. Anush Balian and vice-president NAAS Ukraine and Anatoli Giorgadze, Academician GAAS

Prof. Duclos Michel Jacques introduced himself. Prof. Anush Balian participated but due to her bad internet connections it was difficult to be online continuously. SC meeting approved prof. DUCLOS Michel Jacques as the member of SC UEAA (he replaces prof. Michel Thibier) and prof. Anush Balian as the observer. Prof. Michel Thibier was appointed to the position of the UEAA consultant.

#5 Official introduction of the Best Scientific Abstracts results UEAA Scientific competition and discussion with the winners.

At the end of the year 2022, the international Jury selected by the UEAA Steering Committee was appointed. Prizes were awarded for the best three Abstracts judged by an international Jury and the winners received an award “The UEAA Best Scientific Abstract Prize”.

Following the results of the selection procedure, here are the three “Best Scientific Abstracts” and the order how they were presented by teams of authors:

The first place:

Farm of the Future – Decarbonising Farm Vehicles and Future Fuels
N. McCarthy(1), J. Wheeler(2), K. Budden(1), R. Gueterbock(3)*, A. Bywater(4), M. Woollacott(5)
(1) Cenex, Holywell Building, Holywell Park, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leics, LE11 3UZ United Kingdom
(2) Wheeler Woodhouse, 21 Elmfield Avenue, Birstall, Leics LE4 3DG, United Kingdom
(3) Foodchains, Trevena, Winton Hill, Stockbridge, Hants SO20 6HL, United Kingdom
(4) University of Southampton, B178/Room 5019 Boldrewood Campus, Burgess Road, SO16 7QF, United Kingdom

(5) Greenwatt Technology, Roseleigh House, Oversley Green, Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 6PG United Kingdom
*Corresponding author: richard@foodchains.co.uk

The second place:

Effect of biofertilizers on leaf yield, nitrate amount, mineral content and antioxidants of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) in a floating culture
Hayriye Yildiz Dasgan(1), AbdullahA ldiyab(1), Farah Elgudayem(1,2), Boran Ikiz(1), Nazim S. Gruda(3)
(1) University of Cukurova, 01330 Adana, Turkey;
(2) University of Sfax, 3000 Sfax, Tunisia
(3) University of Bonn 53121 Bonn, Germany, and Academy of Sciences of Albania, Sheshi “Fan Noli”, No 7, Tirana, Albania
*Corresponding authors: dasgan@cu.edu.tr

The third place:

Essential amino acids: master regulators of nutrition and environmental footprint?
P. Tessari (1)*, A. Lante (2) & G. Mosca (2)
1 Dept. of Medicine, University of Padova, Italy (PT).
2 Dept. of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals & Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Italy (AL, GM).
*Corresponding author: paolo.tessari@unipd.it

UEAA steering committee members congratulated the winners.

Consequently, the SC members discussed the second round/year of “The UEAA Best Scientific Abstract Prize” and approved it. Discussion was also about improvement of this scientific event and better promotion to involve more effectively all European research community.
Responsible persons for the second round of “The UEAA Best Scientific Abstract Prize”: Michel Duclos (in cooperation with Michel Thibier), Elena Horská, Ioan Jelev.

#6 Information about planned activities since last SC UEAA and for next term

Tomas Garcia Azcarate informed about EWG CAP after 2027, He mentioned extremely low interest from side of the European academies.
Kerstin Niblaeus informed about forestry strategy and – News from the EU Swedish Presidency and agriculture policy.

Professor Ioan Jelev, vicepresident of UEAA, expressed his support to the application of the Institute of Genetics, Physiology and Plant Protection from Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, in view to be accepted like an active member of UEAA, the main Institute in the Republic of Moldova in the field of applied Biology and Agricultural sciences. Due to the fact that in Republic of Moldova there are not an Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Institute is the most appropriate one to be the representative of Moldavia in the UEAA frame.
The Institute and the researcher from the Institute are very well known not only in the Republic of Moldova, but also at the international level.
He proposed that at the upcoming UEAA SC Prof. Vasile BOTNARI, will be invited as an observer member, representing the Institute of Genetics, Physiology and Plant Protection of the Republic of Moldova.

#7, 8, 9 Planning of the Newsletters during next term, website updates

April 2023 – Baiba Rizva
May 2023 – Simone Orlandi
June 2023 –
July 2023 – Tomas Garcia Azcarate

There were discussed also updates, modernization and attractiveness of the UEAA website.
Simone Orlandi: improvement of communication and promotion of UEAA among agricultural academies, try to focus on better visibility of the UEAA.
Close of the meeting: at 1 pm.
Next meeting: June, 16, 10 am 2023

Attachment:
Valedictory speech prof. Ioan Jelev:
Thanks to Michel Thibie and Guram Aleksidze

About Michel

Dear Michel,
I want at this moment, which for me and I am convinced for all the other members of the UEAA SC is sad, to address you a few words on the occasion of announcing your retirement from the activity carried out for many years within the UEAA, activity whose peak was represented by taking over the presidency of the UEAA in 2016, a presidency in which you set yourself three priority objectives that you solved brilliantly: Promoting a program and a Commission for education in the technical field of agriculture, organizing a meeting in Brussels with the European Commissioner Phil HOGAN, organizing and developing a new UEAA WEB page.
In addition to these professional successes, I would like to refer to Michel as a person, the man who put his soul into everything he did, who always came with good advice and a practical, constructive solution, in a word, he was the soul and engine of our activity.
For me personally he was and is a role model from whom I learned enormously and relied on, knowing that he is someone who will find the best solution when necessary.
I deeply regret his decision to retire, but I hope and even propose that we consider the possibility of creating an advisor position within the UEAA SC so that we can benefit from his advice in the future.
Many thanks Michel for all you have done and I wish success to your “successor”, Michel DUCLOS, here is another Michel, who I am convinced will do everything possible to support the work of the UEAA and continuing successfully his brilliant predecessor.

About Guram

At the same time, I would like to say a few words about Guram’s decision to retire, here at a difficult moment, when two of the promoters and supporters of the UEAA activity retire. All I can say about Guram is that he took over the activity of President of the UEAA, in a difficult and dramatic moment, with the passing of the president-elect Antonio Michele STANCA, in the context of a Pandemic that shook the world to its foundations. Guram made the complex and difficult task of coordinating the UEAA SC, seem easy and natural, ensuring a mathematical flow of the activity. He also came with new initiatives, among which the most remarkable is the organization of a competition at the UEAA level for the best abstracts, but also with the organization in the best conditions of an important international Symposium in the field of agricultural mechanization, with a wide participation both physical and online, at a time when the effects of the Corona virus Pandemic were still present. His initiative regarding the competition of the best Abstracts, not only came to life, but also took place in the best conditions.
I would like to thank Guram very much for everything he has done for us and ask him, like Michel, to allow us to continue to call on his advice when we need it more.