Many papers have been submitted from outside of Viet Nam and with the contributions from scientists from within Vietnam the 5th World Waterfowl Conference is shaping up to be an excellent forum for the exchange of knowledge, according to the organisers.

The Organising Committee has updated information on the web site, www.wwc2013hanoi.vn, relating particularly to some deadline dates.

The scientific programme for the Waterfowl Conference is an excellent one. It will provide new information for application by the waterfowl industries of the world. Five keynote speakers and the conference streams they are presenting in are:

• Prof. Heinz Pingel (Germany) - Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction
• Prof. Gérard Guy (France) - Production Systems and Nutrition
• Prof. Hiro Kida (Japan) - Environment, Biosecurity and Disease
• Dr. Roel Mulder (Netherlands) - Marketing and Product Safety
• Prof. David Farrell (Australia) - Small Scale Family Production

A sixth keynote speaker is Dr Jeng-Fang Huang from Taiwan, who will present an up to date overview on global waterfowl production.

The conference has organised two field trips at the conclusion of the conference for participants to choose from. The first is a bus trip to the Dai Xuyen Duck Breeding and Research Centre. This is some 50km south of Hanoi in Ha Tay province. The second is a visit to Cam Binh Duck Research Farm. It is also about 50km from Hanoi, in Hung Yen province to the east. Methods of sustainable duck production that suit Viet Nam’s agricultural conditions can be seen at both places.