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sustainabl;e ag conference



Date:     Thu May 09, 1996  8:06 pm  EST
From:     Zhanna Zabello
          MBX: zzabello@mdp.com
 
Subject:  NEW @GRIBUSINESS
 
This is to inform you that information about Sustainable Agriculture
                       Farming Conference

                              Irkutsk, Siberia

                               October 1996 is placed on New 
Agribusiness and can be found at the location: http://
www.agriculture.com/contents/world/network/reap/ecirku96.html

or in Announcement:Exchanges section from New @gribusiness home 
page: http://www.agriculture.com/contents/world/enaindex.html

Your piece on Farm Tourism and more can be found at: http://
www.agriculture.com/contents/world/enaindex.html in New 
@gribusiness. Unfortunately the original piece was slightly 
corrupted during its transferring and I have not received the 
requested corrections of a hard copy (it was probably lost in the 
mail). I have made editing myself and now you can find a link to 
this information directly from New @gribusiness home page. I think 
this piece has a potential to attract many readers and participants.

Is it possible for you to overlook the current version and make 
corrections or approve is as is. I think there is a possibility of 
this pies to make its way into the What's New section of @griculture 
Online (now we have up to a 1,000,000 hits per a month). 

Looking forward to hearing from you.
 
Zhanna Zabello
New @gribusiness Coordinator
Web Designer

ENC: Current text.

                          [REAP International]
> 
>                                 Notice
> 
>               Sustainable Agriculture Farming Conference
> 
>                            Irkutsk, Siberia
> 
>                              October 1996
> 
>           REAP International has been requested by the
>           Ministry of Agriculture of Irkutsk and the
>           President of the Irkutsk Farmers Union to conduct 	a conference on sustainable agriculture in Irkutsk.  	We will recruit eight persons from the US to take 	part in this conference. Russian participants will 	include the membership of the Ir
sk Farmers 	Union (1,600 farmers), educators, researchers, 	environmentalists, government officials, rural 	residents and members of local nongovernmental 	organizations. 

>          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 Baikal.  We believe that it is necessary for American participants to start out wit
tays on farms, 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 visas, will be $2,100.  The same cost applies to persons optioning to stay two weeks and goi
on 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 to us for a second conference, it was agreed that sustainable agriculture should be the theme
American participants will find the challenges facing their Russian counterparts to be enormous. The survival strategies which we have developed in the past 15 years can be very useful to Irkutsk farmers.  This includes management ideas, information sh
ng 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 contributing to contamination of Baikal.  Soil erosion is a monumental problem here. There is no conto
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 farmers will survive (if any) at Baikal?  As with our own situation, farmers must band togethe
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 do it for them. 

Interested persons should contact:  Bill Mueller, REAP International, 1427 4th Street SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa  52404  (319) 366-4230; FAX:  (319) 366-2209.    E-mail: Reap International 0006513571@mcimail.com
> 
>           --------------------------------------------------
>               REAP International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
>                              organization.
> 
>           --------------------------------------------------
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