The most recent biennial International Wheat Congress was held in Beijing earlier this month. Photo: IWC

MURDOCH University has won the right to host the third International Wheat Congress (IWC) in recognition of its standing as a leader in future wheat research, technology, and knowledge transfer.

The prestigious conference is to be held in Perth in 2024 with 600-800 delegates from Australia and overseas expected to attend.

The biennial event was first held in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2019 and the following congress was in Beijing, China in 2022.

The IWC was established ago following the merger of two major original conferences — the International Wheat Genetics Symposium and the International Wheat Conference.

The winning bid to host the conference, led by Professor Rajeev Varshney, is expected to provide an excellent opportunity for the wheat community from Australia and around the world to share the latest progress and to develop recommendations for future wheat research and innovation programs.

“Our sincere thanks to the international organising committee of the IWC, especially to Professor Curtis Pozniak and Professor Peter Langridge, Chair of the Wheat Initiative, for reposing their trust and providing us this opportunity to host this major event in Perth,” Professor Varshney said.

Professor Rajeev Varsheny inspects a pigeonpea trial Photo: Murdoch University

Murdoch University Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks said hosting the IWC would provide a valuable platform to share the agricultural research being done at the university.

“This is an important conference for the agriculture community, and given Western Australia produces 60-70 per cent of Australia’s wheat, the conference will enhance the visibility of Murdoch University at national and international level,” Professor Deeks said.

Murdoch will be working with all agricultural wheat research organisations based in Australia to organise the conference.

WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, The University Western Australia, CSIRO, the Grains Research & Development Corporation and others will all be involved.

The IWC supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2, to eliminate poverty and hunger around the world.

Source: Murdoch University