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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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