Brazil's Ministry of Agricultural Development, with support from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), will hold a “virtual congress” aimed at providing a platform for civil society and the general public to discuss sustainable development issues related to family agriculture with experts, researchers and public sector managers. The discussions will be synthesized into a special report that will be presented to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The virtual conference will feature two broad conferences on the themes of “green economy” and “socio-productive inclusion,” while specialized forums will be provided on three thematic axes: rural sustainable development (including poverty and the role of women); natural resources and food sovereignty (including water and land management, desertification and climate change); and sustainable consumption and production.  

dates: 9-30 April 2012   location: virtual   e-mail: iicabr.informa@iica.int   www: http://www.congressorio20.org.br/sitio/