Invitation to International Crop Science Congress 2008

The Korean Society of Crop Science (KSCS) and the organizing committee for the 5th International Crop Science Congress 2008 (ICSC 2008) are pleased to announce the 5th ICSC, which will be held from 13-18 April 2008 in Jeju Island, Korea. We are proud to announce that ICSC 2008 will be a highly informative, memorable, and fruitful event for all the members of ICSC as well as for all crop scientists and agronomists around the world.

Remarkable cultural changes and advancement in crop technology have made profound impact to the agriculture sector, as evidenced by the recent rapid growth in crop farming and rangeland systems in the world. Innovative ways of applying research findings for efficient crop production and food security have demonstrated significance in the form of better quality of life and well-being of farmers and general public in the developed and developing countries. However, persistent hunger and malnutrition in many developing countries, as well as environmental degradation due to intensive crop farming worldwide, have brought food insecurity a serious concern for the future. Moreover, global climate change and increasing pollution issues have demanded greater public investment in agricultural research, specifically to eliminate food insecurity and mitigate pollution in developing world. This 5th ICSC will provide scientists and participants a good opportunity to have elaborate discussion on the imminent issues in conventional and modern agronomic practices as well as biotechnology and its application to increase the yield and quality of the produce for the 21st century.
Being located in Far East Asia, Korea has four distinct seasons and fertile agricultural land, which have been supporting agriculture as a major industry for 5,000 years. The Korean peninsula is surrounded by three seas that provide trade routes and contribute diversity to the diet. A vast area of land in the peninsula is abundant with natural resources, rare flora, and fauna.

Farming in Korea has traditionally been characterized by sowing seeds in spring, nurturing the crop in summer, harvesting it in fall and preserving during winter. This climatic diversity in the peninsula has allowed crop diversity. Rice is the major crop produced in the flat plain areas specifically in the western part of the countryrice . Moreover, recently sprawling vinyl house cultivation has made production of fresh vegetables and some fruit crops possible all the year round.

All the members of KSCS and the organizing committee of 5th ICSC 2008 are working very hard to make this great event a grand success. We cordially invite you to participate, enrich our collective efforts, and simultaneously enjoy astounding natural beauty and cultural diversity of Jeju Island. We are looking forward to meeting you in warm spring of 2008 in Jeju Island.

Sincerely,