Call for Papers: Workshop on labour and large scale agriculture in post-independent Africa and Southeast Asia

Abstracts are invited for submission for a workshop on Labour in Large Scale Agriculture in Africa and Southeast Asia, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa on 19-22 September 2012.

The objectives of the symposium are to both give proper recognition to the employment dimension of LSA in Africa and Southeast Asia, and to re-instate in public debate a number of aspects of the ‘labour question’ which, although discussed from time to time in the historical literature, are largely absent from current narratives in the press and by international organizations, NGOs and firms. The aspects in question concern processes of recruitment, stabilization, qualification, contractualization and control of labour, as well as the way in which work is organized and in which workers orgnize themselves or are supported in doing so. The symposium will encourage contributions dealing with each of these issues, both in relation to specific modern (post-independence) cases as well as across cases, in relation to certain cross-cutting themes (see below). Cases may refer to specific crops/sectors, farms/plantations/companies or countries/regions.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 11 May, 2012

African Green Revolution Forum 2012

The African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) focuses on promoting investments and policy support for driving agricultural productivity and income growth for African farmers in an environmentally sustainable way. The Forum, which stems from the African Green Revolution Conference in Oslo, is a private-sector led initiative which will bring together African heads of state, ministers, farmers, private agribusiness firms, financial institutions, NGOs, civil society and scientists, to discuss and develop concrete investment plans for achieving the green revolution in Africa.

Date: 27-28 September, 2012
Venue: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Cracking the Nut 2012 Conference

The Cracking the Nut 2012 Conference is the premier global event to exclusively focus on leveraging public private partnerships to develop rural and agricultural markets and help investors identify opportunities at all points along dynamic rural and agricultural value chains. The Conference will share competitively selected best practices through five focused themes:

• Expand to new markets
• Tap new sources of supply
• Create effective partnerships
• Make finance work
• Forge positive government support

Date: 25-26 June, 2012
Venue: Washington DC, United States

The 3rd RUFORUM Biennial Regional Conference

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is a network of 29 universities in the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) region. The 2012 RUFORUM Biennial Conference is the third in the series. The main objective of the conference is to provide a platform for agricultural research for development stakeholders in Africa and beyond to actively exchange findings and experiences, while at the same time learning lessons towards improving performance of the agricultural sector and ultimately people’s livelihoods. The Biennial conference is especially dedicated to graduate students and their supervisors, grantees in RUFORUM member universities and alumni - it is a platform for peer review, quality control, mentorship, networking and shared learning.

Date: 24-28 September 2012
Venue: Entebbe, Uganda

Deadline for submission of extended abstracts: 30 April 2012
Deadline for registration: 30 July 2012

10th African Crop Science Society Conference

From Soil to Soul - Crop production for improved African livelihoods and better environment for future generation.

Date: 9-12 October 2012
Venue: Maputo, Mozambique

Minia International Conference for Agriculture and Irrigation in the Nile Basin Countries

The theme of the conference highlights the desire of the committee to bring together experts from a variety of fields to further knowledge and research in Agriculture and Irrigation. In addition to keynote addresses and symposia given by invited overseas and African speakers, individuals are invited to submit papers for presentation as talks in concurrent sessions, or as posters. There will also be time for discussion at various workshops.

Date: March 26-29, 2012
Venue: El-Minia, Egypt

Jobs, Food and Farming

In the coming years the agrifood sector in Africa will undergo significant transformation that will result in both challenges and opportunities for young people, depending on who and where they are. This conference aims to shift the debate away from questions such as “How can farming be made more attractive to young people?” toward a broader analysis of the opportunities and challenges for different categories young people in different situations.

Date: March 19-21, 2012
Venue: Accra, Ghana