As previously announced, the IRSA Council
recently decided unanimously to postpone the XV World Congress in Cairns due to
COVID-19. The XV World Congress is now scheduled
for July 6th through the 10th of 2021 in Cairns,
Australia. The venue remains the Pullman Cairns International Hotel.
We will maintain the basic program framework
that was originally developed. All sessions and abstracts accepted for
IRSA 2020 will be transferred to the provisional program for IRSA 2021.
However, spaces will be available for
additional oral presentations. We anticipate that the Congress organizers will
be able to welcome new abstract submissions beginning June
30th.
We ask those who want to attend the Congress as a presenter to visit the Congress website at https://www.irsa2021.com/.
The Congress website provides new
time-lines for registration for those who have not registered yet and other
important information such as for entry visas and ETAS, accommodations, and so
on.
The spread of COVID-19 has
highlighted various problems, which are hidden behind conventional
socio-economic systems. As for agriculture and rural society, challenges such
as vulnerability of current agri-food systems, social exclusion and prejudice
to poor and essential workers, frowning on the weak, concentration of disasters
or calamity just same as bioconcentration have all been made more apparent.
COVID-19 is forcing us to reconsider relations between global and local,
central governments and local governments, rural and urban societies. We need
serious reflection and a bold transformation of conventional socio-economic
systems, including agri-food systems, which until now have been based on the
principles of efficiency and profit maximization through selection and
concentration.
At the 2021 Congress, I am sure
there will be a lot of studies about the impacts of COVID-19 and perspectives
post or with new Corona virus. I hope for an aggressive discussion on these
on-going issues in Cairns.
Koichi Ikegami
President of IRSA
