Nowadays, human being´s demand for the global agriculture is  to increase quantity and quality of food production, taking care of environment, using less fossil fuel and purchased inputs,  promoting biodiversity, efficiency, resilience, climate change adaptation and mitigation.

In the Southern Cone of America, we have been working on addressing this challenge for more than 40 years now. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have massively implemented advanced technological, organizational and institutional innovations that have increased competitiveness and productivity with farming systems, which are environmentally friendly.

The world is supposed to produce 50% more food by 2050 using available natural resources efficiently and sustainably while reducing greenhouse gases emissions (GHG) per unit produced. However, some 89% of the current world crop production is managed under conventional tillage based systems, which degrade the environment, are inefficient in terms of resource use, and contribute to global warming.

The intensive crop production (cereals and oilseeds) in these four countries is also associated with pastures and other fodder crops for intensive livestock production. This modern agriculture is based on what is internationally known as Conservation Agriculture, a No-Till System with no soil disturbance, permanently covered soils and diversity in the crops grown including rotation, along with the integration of crop-livestock-tree systems, strategic and balanced nutrition of soil health, integrated management of insects, weeds and diseases with a responsible use  of agrochemicals and veterinary drugs. The rapid adoption of this system particularly since 1990 was possible in part because local companies manufactured machinery adapted to the demands of local farmers.

Conservation Agriculture systems reduce soil erosion and degradation, improves rainwater storage in the soil and increases its use efficiency; recovers, maintains and improves soil health, promotes nutrient cycling, reduces GHG emissions, increases carbon sequestration, allows greater  and more stable productivity.

Science and technology development are crucial for the challenge to increase production while taking care of environment and human health.

Despite scientists, policy makers and others keep discussing how to feed the increasing population on this planet, farmers are not involved centrally in such discussions. The global Conservation Agriculture Community has more than 40 years of field experience and scientific evidence showing that this revolution began with farmers. Later scientist community validated and expanded the technology.

Conservation Agriculture farmers represent more than 75% in the Southern Cone of South America but only 11% of total cropland in the world. Therefore it is the objective of this World Congress on Conservation Agriculture to demonstrate that Conservation Agriculture is actually the best tool to mitigate climate change and to adapt to the effects of climate change, contributing to food security, promoting resilience and biodiversity and, with this, helping to save the planet.

We also want to show the needs of having the adequate policies and applied prospective research to take decisions at the same roundtable with farmers. With around 795 million people suffering hunger, most of them living in agricultural areas associated to smallholders and family farming, policy makers have an important role of providing the tools those communities need. In order to accomplish the goal of eradicating hunger once and for all, there is plenty of scientific evidence to show that supportive policies in the agricultural sector pay off better than others when it comes to food security issues. Gender equality, smallholder and family agriculture are also relegated spots of conventional agriculture systems, but it should not be a barrier for adopting more sustainable systems such as Conservation Agriculture, with the collaboration mechanisms and organizations connecting farmers, researchers, educationalists, policy makers and local industries, such as machinery manufacturers across the world.  

We intend to bring together at the 7WCCA, farmers, policy makers, scientists and educationalist from all around the world, along with financing representatives, risk brokers and others stakeholders to identify the best solutions for all regions. The 7WCCA, as the global forum gathering the worldwide Conservation Agriculture Community,  will be organized side by side with the 25°Aapresid Annual Congress, consolidated as the most important meeting of technological reference in the Subcontinent and globally recognized, gathering the best experts and proposing a real networking for update, exchange and knowledge of advanced technologies as technical  beacon for highlighting future challenges and innovative scenarios to address them.

The Congress facilities include two plenary halls for panels and keynote speakers, nine workshop rooms, an indoor exhibition hall, and an open park for machinery exhibitions. 

The appointment is for August 1-4, 2017; Rosario - Argentina .