10.00 - 10.10

Welcome address

10.10 - 10.50

Keynote: The future of aquaculture: nourishing the world in 2050

• The current scenario we face in Aquaculture in both globally and in the MEA region
• Forecasts and models indicating the quantities of fish that will be required in 2030 and 2050
• Changes to US development rules: what impact will they have on the industry?
• Future prospects of creating a sustainable aquaculture industry to feed the world in 2050

Dr. Rohana Subasinghe, President, Asia-Pacific Chapter, World Aquaculture Society

10.50 - 11.10

Oman’s aquaculture programme: the current situation and future vision

• The current situation in Oman’s Aquaculture industry: the rules, regulations, private investment and funding support from the Ministry
• What has already been achieved in Oman’s Aquaculture industry?
• Oman’s Aquaculture Vision 2040 and what it will mean for the industry

Dawood Al-Yahyai, Aquaculture Expert, Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, Oman

11.10 - 11.40

11.40 - 12.00

Salmon fish farming in Dubai and what it means for regional food security

• Fish Farm’s experiences with farming salmon in Dubai
• Setting up an onshore recirculated aquaculture system (RAS) for the project
• Operational lessons learnt from the salmon farm
• Aquaculture’s role in the future of regional food security

Bader bin Mubarak, CEO, Fish Farm

12.00 - 12.20

Current aquaculture products and production system in Riau Island Province, Indonesia

Dr. Romi Novriadi, Senior Researcher, Directorate General of Aquaculture, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia

12.20 - 13.00

Panel: Planning for 2050: aquaculture’s role in providing regional food security, quality and safety

• The benefits and risks of new strategies for maintaining fish health: fishmeal replacement, vaccines, medicated feed additives and microbiome technologies
• The impact of tightening environmental regulations on the global aquaculture industry
• What changes do we need to make as an industry and what are the time frames we need to aim for?
• Sustaining a profitable aquaculture business in the face of technical, environmental and economic challenges

Panellists include: Dawood Al-Yahyai, Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, Oman

13.00 -14.00

Lunch

14.00 - 14.20

International advancements in sustainable aquaculture

• Designing for better health and safety at exposed aquaculture facilities
• Rapid development in the digitization of aquaculture
• Technology for the future of aquaculture: food production and sustainability

Kim David Lid, Managing Director, Sterner BioTek

14.20 -14.40

National and enterprise level biosecurity, from reaction to proactive management: the case of Saudi Arabia

• NAQUA’s and KSA biosecurity strategy and how it has developed over time
• Genetic and epigenetic approaches to shrimp breeding for disease control

Dr. Victoria Alday-Sanz, Director of Biosecurity and Breeding Programmes, National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA)

14.40 - 15.00

Afternoon refreshments

15.00 - 15.20

Advances in applied genetics in marine shrimp and implications for sustainable production

Dr. Morten Rye, Director of Genetics, Benchmark Genetics

15.20 - 15.40

Research into fishmeal replacement: meeting nutritional requirements in the long-term

• An analysis of nutritional requirements of aquatic organisms throughout the life cycle
• How to evaluate quality, substantial feed to ensure fish growth and health
• Which avenues of research are the most promising for fishmeal replacement?

15:40 - 16.20

Panel: Using new technology to increase the fish supply in the Middle East and Africa

• Employing digital technologies to prevent disease in fish farms
• Which technologies are the most promising for improving productivity?
• New technology developments on the horizon that will impact the Aquaculture industry’s future success

16.20

Close of Aquaculture Conference

10.30 - 10.40

Welcome

10.40 - 11.20

Innovations for more profitable and sustainable animal farming

11.20 - 12.00

Morning refreshments

12.00 - 12.40

Antibiotic resistance pattern among Escherichia coli isolated from poultry farms in Sudan

• The aim of the study: isolating and characterizing E. coli from broilers chickens in Bahri locality in Khartoum state, and to elucidate their antimicrobial resistance profile
• Sampling, collection and testing methods for the study
• The results of the PCR analysis: antibiotic resistance and susceptibility profiles to Erythromycin, Clarithromycin, Azithromycin, Tetracycline and Ciprofloxacin
• Implications for the prudence of antibiotics use in broilers industry

Dr. Nawal Noureldaim Abuelhassan, Department of Animal Genetic Resources, Animal Resources Research Corporation (ARRC), Sudan

Dr. Nawal N. Omer, Department of Genetic Resources, Ministry of Animal Resources, Sudan

12.40 - 13.20

The present situation of MERS-CoV in the Middle East

• MERS suddenly appeared in 2012 on the Arabian Peninsula and so far more than 2200 laboratory confirmed human cases have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 35%.
• MERS is caused by a coronavirus named MERS-CoV and belongs to lineage C of the RNA Beta coronavirus
• MERS-CoV has circulated in dromedaries for decades, but only recently spilled over into humans in 2012, for unknown reasons
• Transmission from dromedaries to humans is rare, and is thought only to occur through very close contact
• Human-human transmission can occur, but better understanding of the disease and improved infection control procedures have reduced infection rates in hospitals
• No vaccine for camels is currently available

Priv. Doz. Dr. Habil. U. Wernery, Scientific Director, CVRL

13.20

Lunch

14.20 - 14.45

Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) project results from Ecuador and Botswana

• A general description of CSA
• The adaptation of traditional cocoa farming in Ecuador: methods, challenges and initial results
• Botswana project: initial results in the improvement of agricultural productivity and climate mitigation
• Monitoring and evaluation tools developed by FAO for CSA projects

Frederica Matteoli, Natural Resource Officer, FAO

14:45 - 15.10

Key knowledge gained from the ground breaking Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS) project

• The challenges of creating a world first facility producing food and fuel on desert lands irrigated by seawater
• What we have learnt about the optimal agronomic practices and growing season of the Salicornia bigelovii plant in the UAE
• The recent structural upgrades to improve performance and the health of the plants and fish
• Scaling up the pilot project to a 200-hectare facility in readiness for commercialisation

Dr. Alejandro Rios Galvan, Director, Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium, Khalifa University

15.10 - 15.30

Afternoon refreshments

15.30 - 16.00

Panel: Which crops will become mainstream in Middle Eastern Agriculture by 2030?

Speakers include: Dr. Alejandro Rios Galvan, Director, Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium, Khalifa University

16.00

Close of the 2020 conference