NFU hosts major international sugar conference in 2010

The NFU is to be the official host of the 2010 World Association of Beet and Cane Growers Conference.

The conference will take place in Cambridge from July 19 to 22 and will be officially launched at a reception on November 22 hosted by NFU Sugar chairman William Martin and other WABCG members in London. The reception will coincide with the WABCG Council meeting in London.

NFU President Peter Kendall said: "We are delighted to be associated with the WABCG in this way. The NFU was one of the original founder members of this truly inspiring organisation. NFU’s Sugar division and its chairman William Martin have been involved with the activities of the WABCG for a number of years encouraging and supporting its work providing farmers of both beet and cane – from big producers to individual farmers – with a platform from which to discuss the challenging issues and changes that face the sugar industry today and in the future.

"It is an honour to be the hosts of this WABCG10 Conference and, alongside supporters such as British Sugar and Farmers Weekly, make this a truly engaging and productive event for all."

British Sugar is the lead sponsor of the conference and will present a keynote session during the event and Farmers Weekly/FWi is the official media partner providing a community website for delegates and interested parties from around the world.

British Sugar will host a gala dinner in the Great Hall at King’s College, Cambridge, and is organising a one-day technical tour for the anticipated 200 delegates expected to attend. Karl Carter, Group Development Director at British Sugar, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the WABCG Conference to be held in Cambridge next year. We believe it is important that the industry is able to come together to discuss issues of relevance and look forward to a stimulating event."

FWi is providing an online community at www.fwi.co.uk/wabcg which will go live from November 2009. The website will be a community focused site providing a channel for delegates and stakeholders across the UK, Europe and the rest of the sugar producing world, to share in the Conference activities, learn more about each other, and create unique debate, and a rich seam of content to share.

Robert Harris, Group Arable Editor at Farmers Weekly, said: "We believe this is an exciting partnership which, in many ways, will be groundbreaking for an event of this type in its ability to generate community content through the use of a blog which will be maintained by William Martin during the WABCG launch event around the WABCG Council session in November and again during the Conference next July. This channel hands NFU Sugar some control over content on the WABCG page on FWi – citizen journalism in its truest sense."

The blog will be regularly updated and maintained by the NFU’s William Martin, who said: "We work in an industry where technology and science has evolved and developed the sugar industry so it is only fitting that we use a communications channel such as the website and this WABCG10 blog to keep in touch with each other, debate, and talk to those who are unable to attend the Conference so that the global position and membership of the WABCG is truly engaged and involved.

"We are grateful to Farmers Weekly for creating this platform for the event. I am looking forward to ’blogging’ and engaging with the topics that we can discuss arising out of the Conference or suggested by those who are unable to attend."