Publication Date

1997

Location

Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Description

It is an honour to present this closing address for the XVIII International Grassland Congress and I do it on behalf of colleagues in Africa, Asia and South America. The thirty themes and over 800 papers presented reflect the growing complexity of our grasslands in shaping the general well-being of people on this planet. The XVIX Congress, to be held in Brazil in 2001, will move the frontiers of knowledge concerning sustainable use of grassland resources even further.

This address is being made from the perspective of developing countries that contain the majority of tropical pastures. This region of the world is characterized by low per capita income (less than (US) $500), a complex agro-ecology from humid to arid as well as fragile environments, and especially for Africa, a general food deficit. In addition, there is a poor awareness of the need to invest in grasslands as a sustainable commodity for livestock agriculture within the context of a traditional grassland based ruminant livestock production.

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Closing Address: A Developing Country Perspective

Manitoba and Saskatchewan

It is an honour to present this closing address for the XVIII International Grassland Congress and I do it on behalf of colleagues in Africa, Asia and South America. The thirty themes and over 800 papers presented reflect the growing complexity of our grasslands in shaping the general well-being of people on this planet. The XVIX Congress, to be held in Brazil in 2001, will move the frontiers of knowledge concerning sustainable use of grassland resources even further.

This address is being made from the perspective of developing countries that contain the majority of tropical pastures. This region of the world is characterized by low per capita income (less than (US) $500), a complex agro-ecology from humid to arid as well as fragile environments, and especially for Africa, a general food deficit. In addition, there is a poor awareness of the need to invest in grasslands as a sustainable commodity for livestock agriculture within the context of a traditional grassland based ruminant livestock production.