Thursday 10 April 2008

10th International Barley Genetics Symposium

April 5-10. Egypt hosted the first international symposium for Barley in Africa.

The 10th International Barley Genetics Symposium was held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina and was jointly organized by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and Bibliotheca Alexandrina with the support of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and OPEC Fund for International Development. The Symposium was the most important forum for barley scientists and the industry worldwide, where results and current trends of barley research and production were presented and discussed, and future strategies were decided.

Barley is cultivated in over 56 million hectares of land the world over and it is the fourth most planted cereal crop. Over the last few years there has been a steady increase in barley and scientists believe that with the increasing global temperatures and the challenges posed by climate change, barley cultivation would expand even more, as this crop grows in warm areas.

Reference: Africa Science News Service 04/04 - International Barley Genetics Symposium (IBGS)