The Second International Agronomy Congress, entitled "Balancing Food and Environmental Security: A Continuing Challenge," was organized by the Indian Society of Agronomy, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India, in New Delhi, 26-30 November 2002. Dr M.S. Swaminathan, UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology and Chairman of the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation, inaugurated the Congress. Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, ICARDA, chaired the inaugural session. The Congress brought together more than 900 participants from all over the world.
    In his address, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy emphasized the need for research and development efforts by both developing and developed countries to address the problems of poverty, food and nutritional insecurity, and degradation of natural resources of land, water, and biodiversity. He touched on the efforts being made by ICARDA and other centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, in partnership with all stakeholders. He drew attention to the need for greater commitment of funds by both national governments and donor agencies for agricultural research and rural development.
    During the inaugural session, Dr M.S. Swaminathan and Prof. Dr El-Beltagy released a special volume entitled “Recent Advances in Agronomy” produced by the Indian Society of Agronomy, and a souvenir, containing full text of articles by key experts in agriculture, including that of Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, produced by the Congress organizers. The Indian Institute of Soil Science, having completed a detailed survey of Indian soils, presented an informative map developed for use by researchers and development agencies. The map was released by Dr Swaminathan, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy, and Dr Punjab Singh, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. They also presented Agronomy Society Awards for 1999, 2000, and 2001 to outstanding agronomists.
    The Congress was organized with plenary lectures and parallel sessions. Also, a large number of poster presentations were made.
    Prof. Dr El-Beltagy made a plenary keynote presentation on 29 November on "Sustainable Management of Dryland Farming Systems in Central and West Asia and North Africa." He also chaired a technical session on "Diversification and Globalization of Agriculture" and the plenary lecture of Dr R.B. Singh on "Food Security and Environmental Balance: Challenges and opportunities."
    Other ICARDA participants included Dr Mohan C. Saxena, Assistant Director General (At-Large); Dr Raj Paroda, Regional Coordinator and Head of the Program Facilitation Unit of the Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) Program; Dr Theib Oweis, Irrigation Management Specialist; and Dr Mekhleis Suleimenov, Deputy Head of the CAC Program. Prof. Dr Ahmed Rafea, Director of the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Expert Systems, Egypt, also participated. Dr Saxena made a plenary presentation on the "Role of Legumes in Cropping Systems in the Dry Areas in the Mediterranean Region" and Dr Paroda made a presentation on "Genetic Resources for Future Sustainability." They also chaired one technical session each during the Congress.
    Prof. Dr Rafea presented a paper on the “Use of Computer Expert Systems in Agriculture,” and illustrated the work being carried out under the twinning agreement with ICARDA. Dr Theib Oweis presented a paper on "New Approaches to Managing Scarce Water Resources in Agriculture." Dr Suleimenov presented a paper on "Conservation Agriculture in Central Asia: Status and Challenges."
    In a separate meeting of the Board of Governors,

ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center.