The Bibliotheca Alexandrina emulates the Ancient Library of Alexandria as a major centre for scholarship and dissemination of knowledge.  It is in this spirit that the Library organises the biennial BioVisionAlexandria meeting, bringing together distinguished speakers, including Nobel Laureates, from around the globe.

The ideology of BioVisionAlexandria 2012 is reflected in our vision for Agriculture & Food Security.  Thus, the meeting seemed the perfect setting to celebrate the journal’s recent launch, which was marked by a session at the meeting chaired by one of the Editors-in-Chief, Malcolm Elliott, on ‘Towards Global Food Security: The 21st Century Challenge’.

Editorial board member Nina Fedoroff – current President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science – spoke first, discussing hydroponics and aquaponics as technologies for sustainable food production.  She was followed by Editor-in-Chief Magdy Madkour, who spoke about the impact of climate change on arid lands agriculture.  The session concluded with a presentation from board member Clive James reviewing the contribution of biotech crops to food, feed and fibre security and sustainability.

Over 100 delegates and invited speakers attended an evening reception hosted by BioMed Central.  Ismail Serageldin, “Librarian of Alexandria” and Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, joined the Editors-in-Chief in addressing those convened regarding the importance of new research and policies to ensure food and nutritional security through sustainable agricultural practices.  He welcomed Agriculture & Food Security as a timely addition to the academic literature, providing a peer reviewed outlet for work addressing and debating these issues.

Stay up to date with articles Agriculture & Food Security is publishing by registering for alerts.  All articles published in the journal are open access – read the launch editorial and published articles online now.  Submit your own research to Agriculture & Food Security to disseminate your findings to a wide international audience.

Editorial Board Lunch

Clockwise from bottom left: Sir Peter Lachmann, Adel El-Beltagy, Fiona Pring (BMC), Klaus Ammann, Salah Soliman, Bilijana Papazova Ammann, Magdy Madkour, Clive James, Malcolm Elliott, Nina Fedoroff, Nandita Quaderi (BMC).