Africa
September, 2008
Source: Plant Breeding News,
Edition 194
Contributed by Kasem Zaki
Ahmed, President, ACSS Council, Department of Genetics,
Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt
The African Crop Science Society
(ACSS) is a society for investigators, producers, business
people and technicians around the world. The ACSS was
established in 1993 with overall goal of promoting crop
production and food security in the continent of Africa.
The general objectives embedded in the Society’s constitution
are to foster and promote the study of crops in all its facets,
this it shall do by creating opportunities for the free exchange
of ideas on crop science and related fields in Africa; fostering
liaison between the Society and other bodies with common or
similar interests both in Africa and abroad; obtaining and
disseminating knowledge, information and ideas pertaining to
crops by means of deliberations and publications; promoting the
work and interests of members of the profession and promoting
contact among the national and regional crop science societies
in Africa; encouraging scientific training in crop science;
promoting a general awareness of the environment and utilizing,
protecting and conserving the environment; and fulfilling any
other function that may be in the interests of crop science.
The Society membership consists of fellow members, honorary
members, ordinary members, associate members, student members
and institutional members. All registered members of the Society
shall receive all notices and free publications of the Society,
and may attend general meetings and congresses of the Society.
The affairs of the Society are managed by a Council, consisting
of: the immediate past-president of the Society; and the
following elected members: a president, a vice-president, five
regional members, woman representative; and three ordinary
council members. English and French are the recognized languages
of the Society.
Generally, the activities of the Society include the convening
of congresses, symposia, workshops and training courses;
publication of the African Crop Science Journal; publication of
regular Newsletters; and organizing general or special general
meetings of the Society.
The society meets once every two years, 1993 in Kampala, Uganda;
in 1995 Blantyre, Malawi; in 1997 Pretoria, South Africa; in
1999 Casablanca, Morocco, in 2001 Lagos, Nigeria; in 2003
Nairobi, Kenya; in 2005 Entebbe, Uganda, in 2007 El-Minia, Egypt
and will meet in 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The ACSS Conference series is held every odd year in one of the
African countries. ACSS conferences are truly international and
attract a lot of participation ranging from 400 to 600
participants. The goal of the conferences are to promote the
active exchange of crop sciences information, innovation, and
new ideas and usually attended by experts of the highest
caliber, distinguished keynote speakers, ministers of
irrigation, higher education, agriculture, environment and
eminent scientists from Africa and the four corners of the
globe.. At last ACSS conference (the 8th) held in El-Minia,
Egypt, 27-31 October 2007, more than 400 of high quality papers
and 10 plenary, as well as, 12 keynote lectures, in different
fields, have be presented orally or poster. All these
contributions were published in ACSS Conference Proceedings
Volume 8 with four parts and 2200 pages as well as CDs.
For more information, kindly, visit our website at
http://www.acss.ws
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