VETAID to hold first ever Scottish/African farming conference
31 October 2008

VETAID will host Scotland’s first farmers’ conference focusing on agriculture in east Africa and what can be learned from African farming methods.

The ‘Family Farming in east Africa’ conference will take place on Friday 21 November at Dingwall Mart, Dingwall. Farmers, crofters, vets, agriculture and veterinary students, politicians and members of the press are invited to attend.

International development experts will provide background information before opening topics for discussion to those in attendance.

Neil Fisher, former Food Security Advisor for development organisation Action Against Hunger, will take Scottish farmers and crofters through some of the practicalities of farming in east Africa, looking at farming methods which have been developed in the region.

Eilidh Whiteford from Oxfam will then consider the wider context in which farmers across the world are working and the joint challenges they face, such as climate change and trade justice.

The conference is part of VETAID’s ‘Herds and Clans’ project, which aims to increase awareness of farming in east Africa among the Scottish agricultural community.

Anyone interested in attending this event should contact John Ferguson at VETAID at john@vetaid.org or by calling 0131 445 6244.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

1. The conference will take place at Dingwall Mart, Dingwall (link to http://www.dingwallmart.co.uk/map.htm) on Friday 21 November 2008 from 11am – 1pm, with registration from 10.30. A soup and sandwich lunch will be provided after the event for attendees. Up to 60 delegates can be accepted and places will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. Numbers for lunch need to be confirmed by Tuesday 11 November.

2. A second VETAID conference will be held in Edinburgh in January. Further details will be posted on the VETAID website, in due course.

3. VETAID’s ‘Herds and Clans’ project is run in partnership with Vétérinaires sans Frontières (VSF) in France, Italy and Belgium. For more information, please visit: www.vetaid.org/sustainable-farming.asp.

4. VETAID is a registered charity working for reduction in poverty and increase in food security for people in Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania who are dependent on livestock for survival.