The Office of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry & Community Relations), Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security (ITAFoS), Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), and Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies co-organized a seminar on “Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Forestry” with the Institute of Higher Studies for Science and Technology (IHEST), France on 14 February 2019 at the TNCPI Building UPM. A total of 42 France delegates attended the seminar. The seminar was in conjunction to their one week International case study in Singapore and Malaysia and is a part of their National Training Course titled“NonKnowledge, the Mother of Invention. The objective of the visit was to see choices made in terms of research, higher education, innovation and development, comparing the systems and putting them into perspective in terms of global issues; and also to understand the development models in the transition of Malaysia’s unique economic development. UPM as a legacy of knowledge and leader in agriculture contributed to the focal point of their visits in Malaysia to discuss issues regarding sustainable agriculture and forestry. The seminar focused on the development, achievements and challenges of Malaysian’s oil palm industry.  Prof. Dr Zulkifli Idrus, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovations) presented UPM’s achievements in research and development activities. A topic on Geopolitics on Forestry, Agribusiness and Food Security was presented by Dr Jean Marc Roda while Dr Marcel Djama presented a topic of Palm Oil Achievements and Challenges: Perspectives from Malaysia. The seminar was a great opportunity for the delegates to share and discuss issues with UPM researchers regarding the tension between European countries towards oil palm development. After the seminar, all delegates were divided into groups to visit the respective institutes. The delegates had the opportunity to visit and interact with the students and researchers who are involved in various researches at the Animal Research Center and Field 15 Glasshouse, which are both under the Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security (ITAFoS).

Date of Input: 11/09/2019 | Updated: 11/09/2019 | s_kumari