Mixed cropping as a means to sustainable agriculture

Postgraduate Course

Mixed cropping as a means to sustainable agriculture:
Pro’s, Con’s and solutions

Sunday 22 -  Friday 27 September 2024

Park Hotel De Bosrand, Ede, the Netherlands

Scope

Intercropping is the next frontier for diversifying agriculture and increasing its productivity, resource use efficiency and resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses in a sustainable manner. Given the challenges of biodiversity decline and climate change it might well be that intercropping is one of the solutions to strengthen the resilience of cropping systems to these environmental threats and sustain food security. 

This postgraduate course focuses on how intercropping promotes productivity, resource use efficiency and resilience of agriculture. Experts involved in European projects on cropping system diversification will highlight the state of the art in intercropping research and its implementation in practice.

Set-up

The course starts on Monday morning with a an introduction and a keynote lecture. Subsequently, we will have a participant poster carousel in which participants introduce themselves via a poster.

IN the morning of each day we have  2 - 3 lectures (30 minutes each), followed by a 30-minute discussion where participants must challenge the speaker on the presentation and the papers that the speaker submitted a-priori. Each day will focus on a specific topic:

• Abiotic factors determining yield and resource use efficiency
• Species traits and breeding for intercropping
• Quantitative methods (meta-analysis and modelling) 
• Intercropping to manage biotic stress factors
• Socio–economic factors and crop management

Afternoons will be spent on working group sessions in which participants are split into groups of 4 - 5 participants. Group work is presented on the last day.

Course Organisers

• Jochem Evers (Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands)
• Wopke van der Werf​ (Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands)
• Claudius van de Vijver (Graduate School PE&RC, Wageningen, the Netherlands)

General information

Fees ¹

¹ The course fee includes accommodation and catering (breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee/tea) but excludes beverages
² The Early-Bird Fee applies to anyone who REGISTERS ON OR BEFORE 23 JULY 2024
Note:

• If you need an invoice to complete your payment, please send an email to office.pe@wur.nl, including ALL relevant details that should be mentioned on the invoice (e.g., purchase order no., specific addresses, attendees, etc.).
• The Early-Bird policy is such that the moment of REGISTRATION (and not payment) is leading for determining the fee that applies to you.
• Please make sure that your payment is arranged within two weeks after your registration.
• It is the participant's responsibility to make sure that he/she (or his/her secretary) completes the payment correctly and in time.

PE&RC Cancellation Conditions

• Up to 4 (four) weeks prior to the start of the course, cancellation is free of charge.
• Up to 2 (two) weeks prior to the start of the course, 50% of the course fee of  will be charged. For PhD's this implies they must pay 50% of the regular fee of "All other academic participants".
• In case of cancellation within two weeks prior to the start of the course or no show, 100% of the participation fee will be charged. For PhD's this implies they must pay the regular fee of "All other academic participants". 

Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us and do not assume that by NOT paying the participation fee, your registration is automatically cancelled, because it isn't (and do note that you will be kept to the cancellation conditions).

More information

Dr. Claudius van de Vijver (PE&RC)
Phone: +31 (0) 317 485116
Email: claudius.vandevijver@wur.nl

Registration