TropAg 2022

TropAg 2022 is a three-day conference, scheduled to be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 31 October 2022 to 2 November 2022.

TropAg Conference

The TropAg conference will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Australia from Monday 31 October to Wednesday 2 November 2022. This conference will incorporate HarlanIV, AgFutures and four other symposia themes which will make up the three-day program. 

TropAg will Shape the Science of Tomorrow, by featuring leading Australian and international scientific voices who are actively engaged in advancing research and raising awareness of the many challenges in the diverse field of agriculture.

This year TropAg will celebrate its fourth conference, attracting around 700 delegates from over 30 countries including high profile keynote speakers, leading scientific experts and agriculture industry leaders.

TropAg is hosted by The University of Queensland – a world leader in agriculture and food research, with support from the Queensland Government via the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, a Scientific Committee, an International Advisory Committee and vital partners and sponsors.

Delegates are encouraged to attend the conference to network and learn from colleagues and leading international scientific voices from across the globe, who are actively engaged in advancing research and raising awareness of the many challenges in the diverse field of agriculture.

The three-day TropAg conference includes six themes to make up the symposium program that will be delivered as concurrent sessions including:

Agribusiness, value chains, and the bioeconomy
Predictive agriculture
Sustainable agrifood systems
Healthy agriculture and food for healthy communities
AgFutures
Harlan

Visit the TropAg website for more information

The Science

Professor Henry says Australia and particularly Queensland have a unique place in the world when it comes to agriculture. “We are one of the very few developed countries in the world in a tropical environment. Our geographic location gives us an advantage and puts at the forefront of research. We have the capability, the expertise and the investment.”

“In an academic sense and scientifically, Queensland leads the way in agriculture. We are right up there with the best and we have a strong reputation internationally.”

“We are dealing with a crux of issues including population growth, an increase in per capita food consumption associated with growing affluence, scarcity of resources, and impacts of climate and environmental disruptions,” he says.

The Professor believes that the current debate around climate change and the insecurity of the world’s food supply has prompted greater investment in agriculture in Australia. “We are seeing more interest in investment in agriculture across the board. In 50 years’ time, people will still be eating and the world’s population will still be growing.”

Highlights from the last conference

TropAg conference organisers say the strength of Queensland science and a stellar line-up of what Professor Henry describes as inspirational keynote speakers, contributed to the success of the conference. Delegate feedback attested that TropAg was an ‘excellent conference with great presentations and opportunities for networking.’

One of the major highlights was the Gala Dinner continuing the conference theme with an all Queensland menu created by BCEC Executive Chef, David Pugh.

David Pugh, a celebrated Australian Chef known for his advocacy and support of local produce, was named as an ‘#eatqld Champion’ at the dinner by Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner.

The future

Professor Henry expects the International Tropical Agriculture Conference to continue for many years to come, attracting increasing numbers of delegates from around the world and he has not ruled out the conference moving to the annual rotation.

“Brisbane,” he says, “is the logical place to hold the conference and the international reputation of the meeting is growing. The BCEC team is crucial to the success of this event. The venue is convenient, flexible and the conference can grow with the venue.”

Key Facts from the last conference in 2019

Global reach

Around 820 delegates from 43 countries attended the last TropAg (in 2019) to engage with Queensland researchers, share scientific success stories and discuss ways to address future challenges in the tropics.

› Bangladesh
› Brazil
› Cameroon
› Canada
› China
› Ethiopia
› Ghana
› Hong Kong
› India
› Indonesia
› Iran
› Italy
› Japan
› Kenya
› Malawi
› Malaysia
› Mali
› Mexico
› Mozambique
› Myanmar
› Nepal
› Netherlands
› New Zealand
› Nigeria
› Pakistan
› Papua New Guinea
› Peru
› Philippines
› Rwanda
› Samoa
› Singapore
› South Africa
› Spain
› Switzerland
› Tanzania
› Thailand
› Timor-Leste
› Tunisia
› Uganda
› United Kingdom
› United States
› Vanuatu
› Vietnam
› Zimbabwe