The 1st National scientific-extension conference on applied achievements in cotton
5-6 Jan 2020 Boshrouyeh, Iran
(Report)
The first National scientific-extension conference on applied achievements in cotton to showcase the latest practical-research findings and exchange of viewpoints with the attendance of specialists, professionals, researchers, promoters, cotton growers, managers of the cotton ginning, spinning, textile, edible oil and animal feed, health, handicraft and rural women small-time occupation and other related industries, was opened to the public on the 5th of January 2020, in the Kian hotel conference hall in the city of Boshrouyeh- South Khorasan province. In this two-day national conference, in its capacity as the first nationwide National topic- and product-oriented scientific-extension conference, 113 poster, review and research papers and 23 key speaking articles by the most experienced researchers, scientists, and experts were presented, the total of which articles (139), after exhaustive technical and review assessments and considerations, were chosen from the 176 articles submitted to the secretariat.
The difference between this national conference and previous national conference, or even an international scale, is the presence of large number of cotton producers and topics presented should have had technical messages and practical recommendations for the audience.
In the opening ceremony of this national conference two mutant cotton varieties, called Parto and Taban, co-developed by the Cotton Research Institute (AREEO of Iran) and the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, after 14 years of research activity, were genetically improved(mutation breeding). In addition to earliness, the two cultivars have high tolerance to drought and salinity, respectively. Technical reports on conservation agriculture and the reasons for Bashrouyeh farmers' tendency to conservative agriculture, were another unveiling of the event, which could pave the way for experts and promoters to expand this type of agriculture. Traditional fabric and cloth, that is produced by rural women, and is in a way, the small-time employment industry, was the third case to be showcased on the first day of the national conference, an industry that has been neglected and could help the rural household economy.
Also, during the opening ceremony, the registration of the first National scientific-extension conference on applied achievements in cotton commemorative stamp was conducted by state and provincial officials present at the conference.
Speaking articles were presented during the afternoon of the first day and the second day morning, with dedicated panels;the articles were presented by the most experienced experts and were highly welcomed by participants at the conference. (One article was presented by an Argentinean professional for harvesting with an advanced roller stripper combine.)
The panel for poster papers was located at the Kian Hotel grounds, the location of the national convention and the authors were present to respond to the on-site audience.
Also, 9 technical workshops on various topics and in venues besides the main hall of the conference, were auxiliary programs, organized by the conference, attended at the experts’ and farmers’ pleasure.
The achievements exhibition from both the private and public sectors, as well as the rural women employment industries, were other sideshow events of the conference. (28 Booth) The matter of interest was the remarkable Boshrouyeh citizen’s welcoming, in addition to the audience, It was crowded for the exhibition.
In the afternoon of the second day (Technical Tour), the machine- (stripper-) harvesting of cotton farm programand the workshop for the necessities of seed multiplication for the ‘Khordad” cultivar cotton farm in the super-elite class, was held; this program was also much favored by the audience.
The easily noticeable point of interest about this two-day national conference was that in its two days, under no circumstance, were there any diminish in attendance from the opening to the close, and at the crowd present at the hall during the closing ceremony, were the same time as the opening day.
The live broadcast of the ceremony was another well-founded initiative of National scientific-extension conference, which made it possible for many audiences who were unable to attend the event, to follow up on the programs with satisfactory quality.
All of the above mentioned has been implemented by the organizers and stakeholders of the conference, to propel and drive towards “boosting production” in the country; and in the case of a product such as cotton, has vast job-adding and added-value effects.
God willing, may this conference serve as a stepping stone towards directing future conferences in the country, to such technical promotional, innovative and practical initiatives which are accompanied by tangible results for the audience, who, in short, will not leave empty-handed.
In the Conference, an agreement for the establishment of Conservation Agriculture Research, Education and Extension site based on cotton in the private sector “Behdasht cooperative company “was signed by the relevant authorities.
It was also recommended to establish a non-governmental organization to exchange more information between various manufacturers called Iranian Cotton Growers Club “ICGC”.
Dr. Mohammad Reza Ramazani Moghaddam
Conference Secretary
