Acta Horticulturae

The third day of the Congress was devoted to
oral presentations grouped in the following 5-
thematic workshops:
Section I - Plant Breeding as a Source of Health
and Beauty;
Section II - Horticultural Plants and Human
Health;
Section III - Environment-Friendly Horticulture;
Section IV - Ornamental Horticulture in
Shaping Life Quality;
Section V - Modern Technologies and the
Quality of Horticultural Products.
All presentations and posters, have been published
in a two-volume, 1094 page supplement
to Folia Horticulturae.
The Ist Congress of PSHS was a very significant
event in the 16-year-long history of the
Society. It evoked considerable enthusiasm
among all participants including scientists,
honorary guests, and sponsors, integrating the
scientific community connected with horticulture
in Poland. However, the most significant
result of the Congress was a broad overview
on Polish research related to horticulture. It has
been decided that subsequent congresses will
be held every 4 years. The next one will take
Official opening of the Congress by PSHS president, Prof. Stanislaw Cebula. The trumpeter
dressed in regional costume plays the traditional tune. (Photo by Edward Kunicki)
place in 2007 at Poznan, the seat of one the
Regional Branches of PSHS.
Stanislaw Cebula, President of the Polish Society for
Horticultural Science
Use Biotechnology to Solve African
Problems: Scientists Call for Increased
Capacity in Africa
African researchers attending a major
biotechnology conference have decried the
lack of African capacity to conduct leadingedge
biotechnological science. While many
African problems, especially in agriculture, may
be solved using biotech tools, too often scientists
in the developed world with access to
more modern facilities must be called in to do
the real work. For many African researchers,
that is just not good enough.
In Ibadan, more than130 delegates from all
parts of Africa with leading researchers and
development assistance partners from the
United States have attended the three-day
conference at the International Institute of
Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The United States
Agency for International Development
(USAID), with support from the Federal
Government of Nigeria and the Agricultural
Biotechnology Support Program, phase 2
(ABSP 2) of USAID along with IITA sponsored
the meeting. It was the third in an annual
series designed to highlight the USAID-Africa
partnership in biotechnology. The United
States has greatly increased its support to
biotechnology in Africa (as well as to other
parts of the developing world) in the past several
years.
African research teams have welcomed that
support but point out that there are still major
gaps to be filled in both technological infrastructure
(laboratories and modern equipment)
and in human scientific capacity. To address
such concerns and help close the biotech gap
in Nigeria, IITA with USAID has just begun a
major biotech capacity building program.
The meeting also discussed recent progress in
several biotech research areas as well as the
policies and legal frameworks that must be in
place (for example, effective laws on biosafety
and legislation on intellectual property rights)
for countries to take full advantage of biotechnological
tools. Delegates deplored the lack of
accurate information available to both the
general public and to African policymakers
about genetic enhancement in food products.
They agreed they had an important job to do
in countering with truth any ill-informed anti-
GMO campaigns. It would be unfair if
Africans, especially the rural poor, did not have
the chance to take advantage of the potentially
huge benefits that genetically enhanced
crops could provide.
IITA is a center of excellence for agricultural
research for the development of Africa. Its goal
is to enhance, in a sustainable and environmentally
friendly way, the livelihoods, wellbeing,
and food security of millions of Africans.
CONTACT
David Mowbray, Head, Communications,
IITA, Ibadan,
Phone: (234) 02 241-2626 ext. 2770,
email: d.mowbray@cgiar.org0
ISHS • 30