The Future of Farming: Profitable and Sustainable Farming with Conservation Agriculture
The 8th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (8WCCA) was held virtually on 21- 23 June 2021 in Bern, Switzerland and attended by 783 participants from farmer associations, international organizations, scientific institutions, private sector, non-governmental and civil society organizations, from more than 108 countries, from the developed and developing world.
249 contributions were submitted from different regions such as Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America and Australia. These data highlight the importance of and the interest in CA around the world.
The main objective of the 8WCCA was to highlight the advances in research and implementation of CA and their relationship with the current demands of society in terms of sustainability and its social, economic and environmental benefits.
This Congress has confirmed that CA is arousing interest at the governmental and institutional level. Proof of this, is the attendance and participation in the Congress by personalities such as the FAO Director General, the European Commissioners for Agriculture, and for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, and important representatives of the private and public sector, among others. All of them have stated the importance of CA as a driver to promote the development of a Sustainable Agriculture at a worldwide level, which respects the environment and that allows the Sustainable Development of agricultural systems, especially in those regions which have economic, social or environmental constraints.
It is a pleasure for us to have shared this important event with all of you and to verify that CA is recognized worldwide as a benchmark in Sustainable Agriculture.
We hope to see you again at the 9WCCA to be held in June 2024 in South Africa.
8WCCA Recordings
OPENING SESSIONChair: Gottlieb Basch, President, European Conservation Agriculture Federation Welcome address and opening remarks by QU Dongyu, FAO Director General Welcome addresses by the European Commission and the Swiss Government: Welcome addresses by development partners: INAUGURAL SPEECH: BENEFITS OF CA FOR FARMERS, SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENTAmir Kassam, Moderator, Global CA Community of Practice (CA-CoP) |
Farmers’ Role in Mainstreaming CA WorldwideYuting Pan, China PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A |
Private Sector Innovations & Engagement for CA DevelopmentKlaus Kunz, Head of Sustainability & Business Stewardship, Bayer. PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A |
Enabling Role of Public Institutions for CA DevelopmentMartin Bwalya, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, African Union PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A |
Civil Society Contributions to Scaling CAMichael Doane, The Nature Conservancy PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A |
Social: Reception / Remembrance / Reminiscence / Biodiversity Performance |
SUB-THEME 1 SESSION 1: Successful experiences and learnings from Conservation Agriculture worldwideChair: Jana Epperlein KEYNOTE SPEECH: AMIR KASSAM ORAL PRESENTATIONS |
SUB-THEME 3 SESSION 1: Mainstreaming of CA with national policy and institutional support and for global governance to support national and international needs and commitmentsChair: Li Hongwen KEYNOTE SPEECH: TOM GODDARD ORAL PRESENTATIONS |
SUB-THEME 1 SESSION 2: Successful experiences and learnings from Conservation Agriculture worldwideChair: Olivier Husson ORAL PRESENTATIONS |
SUB-THEME 3 SESSION 2: Mainstreaming of CA with national policy and institutional support and for global governance to support national and international needs and commitmentsChair: Michele Pisante ORAL PRESENTATIONS |
PLENARY: Carbon Services and Market Opportunities through CA“Counting Carbon”, Dr Brian McConkey, Chief Scientist, Viresco Solutions PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A |
SUB-THEME 2 SESSION 1: Farm and ecosystem level benefits of CA systems to farmers, to society and environmentChair: Gabriela Cruz KEYNOTE SPEECH: DON REICOSKY ORAL PRESENTATIONS |
SUB-THEME 4 SESSION 1: Promoting CA-based knowledge and innovation systems and information sharing and communicationChair: Hafiz Muminjanov KEYNOTE SPEECH: RACHID MRABET ORAL PRESENTATIONS |