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sust. ag conference in Russia
I was asked to post the follwoing message about a sustainable
agriculture conference scheduled to take place in Irkutsk in October.
The organization sponsoring the conference is looking for US farmers
who would be interested in participating. Please respond directly to
William Mueller. His e-mail is 0006813571@mcimail.com. Feel free to
post this message on other listservers that might be interested in the
anouncement.
REAP International
William Mueller
Director
1427 4th Street SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Telephone (319) 366-4230
Fax (319) 366-2209
Notice
Sustainable Agriculture Farming Conference
Irkutsk, Siberia
October 10 to 19, 1996
REAP International has been requested by the Ministry of Agriculture
of the Irkutsk Oblast and the President of the Irkutsk Farmers Union
to conduct a conferen
t in this conference. Russian participants will include the
membership of the Irkutsk Farmers Union (1,600 farmers), educators,
researchers, environmentalist
The Ministry will pay all the local expenses of American participants,
including four days of stays on local farms, conference costs and an
excursion to Lake
rms, seeing the farm and hearing the concerns of real farmers, before
convening a formal conference.
American participants will have to fund transportation to the lake,
including expenses in getting through Moscow. Total cost from Chicago
to Baikal, including
n to Buryatia for a second conference.
Background
In March 1995 REAP conducted a conference in Irkutsk hosted by the
Ministry of Agriculture. This conference was extremely well received.
In making their offer
American participants will find the challenges facing their Russian
counterparts to be enormous. The survival strategies which we have
developed in the pas
haring and marketing. It includes coalition building between the farm
and nonfarm sectors of the society. The same kinds of tension is
rising at Lake Baikal.
Farming is viewed as a problem by many Russians who care about the
welfare of Lake Baikal. Poor management practices on State and private
farms are contributin
plowing, winter cover crops or adequate crop rotations.
In the future, regulation of farming will grow more intense. The
pressure to farm in environmentally safe ways will be intensified.
The question is -- which f
ith environmentalists, scientists and others to approach this problem
holistically, and with an organized plan of attack. If they do not do
this, others will
Interested persons should contact: Bill Mueller, REAP International,
1427 4th Street SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404, (319) 366-4230; Fax.
(319) 366-2209.