Seagriculture Launches Asia-Pacific Virtual Conference

This year the Seagriculture conference, a leading annual seaweed industry event held in alternating locations since 2012, is launching an online edition “Seagriculture Asia-Pacific 2023” dedicated to the seaweed industry in the Asia Pacific region. Taking place on 8-9 February 2023, the new virtual conference will spotlight industry knowledge on seaweed topics for a region forecast to grow threefold by 2029.

Organized by DLG Benelux and partners, the new Seagriculture Asia-Pacific conference will cover industry topics relevant to the region, from seaweed farming and mechanization to market trends and business development, breeding, and disease management.

“With this new online conference, ‘Seagriculture Asia Pacific,’ we are meeting the demand for more specialist knowledge in virtually every technical area of the seaweed supply chain in the region,” said Kuno Jacobs, Managing Director, DLG Benelux.

Driven by increasing demand for seaweed in industries including pharmaceuticals, personal care, agriculture, domestic, animal feed, as well as food and beverages, the Asia-Pacific commercial seaweed market is expected to reach nearly $16 billion by 2029.

Since its inception in 2012, the Seagriculture conference has taken place annually in key locations of the seaweed industry in Europe, adding North America last year. “Due to an acute demand in North America for this specialized knowledge, we launched the Seagriculture conference in the US, which proved to be successful, bringing together experts homing in on regional issues,” said Mr. Jacobs. “The Seagriculture Asia-Pacific will be another such event that promotes the sharing of industry knowledge. We will be hosting the first event online, to enable participation in multiple time zones.”

Keynote Speakers from FAO and Climate Foundation

Keynote speakers Simon Funge-Smith, Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) regional office for Asia and the Pacific, Thailand; and Brian Von Herzen, Climate Foundation, Australia, will present an overview of seaweed production in Asia, including trade and social challenges, hurricane-proven offshore seaweed mariculture, and deep-water irrigation as well as climate disruptions.

Among the six session topics, ranging from smart farming technologies to seaweed nutraceuticals, 22 experts will explore the regional aspects of cultivation, processing, sales, business planning in kelp farming, technical trends, and prospects for the future.

The conference will be concluded by Professor Catriona Hurd, University of Tasmania, Australia, and co-chair of the 24th International Seaweed Symposium organizing committee.

For the complete schedule and registration information.