nnouncements of meetings, seminars, workshops and training courses are made. Please send us announcements for national, regional and international training courses, seminars and workshops for inclusion in the next issue.

Conferences

FIS/ASSINSEL, World Seed Congress, 27-30 May 2002, Chicago, USA.
The meeting will announce the official merger of the International Seed Trade Federation (FIS) and the International Association of Plant Breeders for the Protection of Plant Varieties (ASSINSEL), to form the new organization called the International Seed Federation (ISF). Please contact Mary O'Connor & Company for further information: 335 North River Street, Suite 203 Batavia, IL 60510, 630-482-3253; E-mail: info@worldseed2002.com. You may also contact FIS Secretariat or visit the website at  http:// www.worldseed.org

18th Pan American Seed Seminar, 1-3 July 2002, Santa Cruz de La Sierra, Bolivia.
The seminar will be organized by FELAS (The Latin America Seed Producers Federation) under the theme 'World Forum: Impact of GMO Products Use on International Trade'. The Pan American Seed Seminar is the major technical, business and discussion forum where Latin American countries deliberate and analyze policies in the seed industry with participants from other parts of the world. For more information visit the webiste: http://www.panamericanodesemillas.com.

OECD Annual Meeting, 24-28 June 2002, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
National authorities from member countries from all over the world will meet to debate topics regarding the certification systems with the purpose of facilitating the international movement of seeds. For more details visit the website: http://www.oecd.org.

ISTA Extraordinary Meeting 3-6 July 2002, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
This is ISTA Meeting following the Pan American Seed Seminar. For more details contact ISTA Secretariat or visit the website at http://www.seedtest.org.

Courses
Crop Choices for Mediterranean Rainfed Conditions: Technical and Socio-economic Criteria, 6-17 April 2002, Algiers, Algeria.
The course will be organized by Instituto Agronómico Mediterráneo de Zaragoza (IAMZ, Spain), Instituit Technique des Grandes Cultures (ITGC, Algeria) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA, Syria) with the contribution of the European Union.   The objective of the course is to provide the necessary methodological and technical elements that may assist decision making in the choice of crops for Mediterranean rainfed areas. The program includes both a macro-economic approach for the establishment of agricultural policies and a micro-economic approach to help farmers make the correct decisions when selecting crops taking into account market opportunities at local, national and international levels. Simultaneous translation into English or French will be provided during the course.
        For more information please contact: IAMZ, Apartado 202, 50080 Zaragoza, Spain; Tel: ++34-976-716000; Fax: ++34-976-716001 E-mail: iamz@iamz.ciheam.org Website: http://www.iamz.ciheam.org

Seed Production and Seed Technology, 29 April - 5 July 2002, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
The objective of the course is to provide participants with the broader knowledge and skills to effectively identify, plan and implement seed programs focusing on policy and regulatory issues (PVP); seed production agronomy, seed processing, post-harvest operations; seed quality control and assurance systems; and socio-economic aspects of seed programs. The full course runs for a period of 10 weeks, and consists of five stand-alone modules each of two weeks: (1) Seed Quality Aspects and Information Technology, 29April - 10 May; (2) Seed Enterprise Development, 13-24May,  (3) Management of Seed Programs, 27 May - 7 June, (4) Plant Variety Protection 10-21 June, and (5) Seed Technology: Agronomy, Storage and Marketing 24 June - 5 July.
        Fellowships are available from the Netherlands for nationals of developing countries for full courses only. Applicants for fellowships should submit their application to the Netherlands Embassy/ Consulate in their home country. Applicants should have at least a BSc degree or equivalent in agriculture, a minimum of three years experience and be competent in the English language. For more details contact: IAC, PO Box 88, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands; Fax: ++31-317-418552; Email: Training@iac-agro.nl; Website: http://www.iac-agro.nl.

Sustainable Agriculture in an Environmental Perspective from 2 September -18 October 2002, Svalöf Weibull AB, Sweden.
The contents of the course are: (1) The challenge (food needs and resource availability, elements of sustainable agriculture, environmental problems etc); (2) Ecological basis of agricultural production;  (3) Plant breeding and biotechnology;  (4) Planning and monitoring; (5) Agriculture in a sustainable society; and (6) Policy instruments. For more information contact: Per Anderson, Director of Program, Svalöf Weibull AB, SE-26881, Svalöv, Sweden: Telfax: ++46-418-667109; E-mail: marie.hardfors@swseed.se; Website: http://www.swseed.se.