An expert group of approximately 120 international and South African irrigation and horticultural scientists will be warmly welcomed to Stellenbosch on 29 January 2023 for a four-day symposium at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study Conference Centre.

According to the Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, the symposium will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the rich diversity of irrigated horticultural crop production in the Western Cape and South Africa.

Meyer: “The Western Cape offers excellent local research on water use and measures to increase water use efficiency, modern irrigation technologies and practices, lessons learned from the 2015-2018 drought, and world-leading understanding of climate change risks and adaptation.”

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture will be the primary host of this prestigious symposium of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). Partners include the Southern African Society for Horticultural Science (SASHS), water research institutions, commodity organisations for fruit, wine and vegetables, and key role players in the private sector.

Prof Stephanie Midgley, climate change and risk assessment expert of the Department, has been nominated as the overall convenor, supported by two co-convenors from Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria, and a committee of local and international scientists.

Midgley: ”The Department’s researchers will contribute presentations on several key projects, including FruitLook, a satellite-based online irrigation decision support tool.”

“The symposium will also allow the department’s research staff and local students to engage and collaborate with international experts from countries such as Spain, Italy and the USA,” concludes Midgley.  

Source: Government of South Africa