Blog Post

International Conference on Sustainable Bioeconomy Held at Partner University in Pakistan

3 November 2021

In cooperation with TRANSECT, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan organised the International Conference on Sustainable Bioeconomy in Livestock and Crop Production, Oct 20-21, 2021

Photo © HNEE / Spies, Zuberi 2021


In a joint cooperation with HNEE's TRANSECT, our partner university MNS-University of Agriculture Multan, Pakistan, organised the International Conference on Sustainable Bioeconomy in Livestock and Crop Production on October 20-21, 2021. 

The conference was facilitated by the Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and held in hybrid format, with participants from Pakistan, Germany, India, Turkey, and China. In his keynote presentation 'Towards a sustainable bioeconomy in the agrarian sector: Pathways and challenges', Michael presented an overview of bioeconomy strategies worldwide and discussed emerging challenges and opportunities for the agricultural sector in Pakistan. In four sessions and three keynote presentations, about 20 speakers presented a diversity of topics ranging from integrated farming systems to circular economy in livestock management and organic vegetable production. Most contributions focused on challenges faced by livestock and crop production systems in Pakistan, and presented approaches on how to address them through bio-based solutions. Examples included, among others, the use of algae to make wastewater fit for agricultural irrigation, the use of medicinal plant extracts to improve livestock performance, and to return agricultural residues to organic fertilizer. While many promising approaches exist, the presentations and discussions revealed that there is often a gap between research and development on the one hand, and actual implementation by farmers on the other.

The concluding remarks by MNS-University of Agriculture Multan Vice Chancellor Professor Asif Ali and Michael highlighted the importance of transdisciplinary approaches as the way forward to bring together farmers, agricultural and social scientists to develop more locally grounded solutions towards a sustainable bioeconomy that is rather based on farmer’s needs. 




Photos 2021 © with kind permission of MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, from left to right: 

Professor Asif Ali, Vice Chancellor, MNS-UAM, Pakistan; Professor Asif Raza, Chairman of the Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, MNS-UAM; Dr Michael Spies and Mehwish Zuberi, HNEE
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