Agronomists in Milan are NOT aggravated economists! What do Agronomists look like?

For this whole week, Milan could well be crawling with “Agronomists”. From Mon Sep 14 to Fri Sep18, is the Sixth World Congress of the World Association of Agronomists  – held at the Expo site.

What – you may well ask – is an “agronomist”?? Could it be an aggravated economist: Mario Draghi with a fallen brick on his toe? Wikipedia comes to the rescue once again, and explains that a specialist involved with the science and technology of agriculture is an agronomist – an agricultural scientist. That makes simple sense.

Count Draghi-la without his cape? Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank. An aggravated economist is not an agronomist. Image Credit: Business Insider

What then does an Agronomist look like: a white coated scientist smeared with and smelling of cow-dung?

Well, here is the Italian President of the National Council of the Order of Doctors of Agronomy and Forestry, CONAF:

CONAF President Andrea Sisti. Image Credit: WAA

Very decent looking… more a technocrat than a technologist; could even be some kind of administrative head or even a politician…. Good and clean cut.

Now, what do you think the President of the World Association of Agronomy looks like….?

President of the World Association of Agronomists, Maria Cruz Diaz Alvarez of Spain. Image Credit: WAA

Surprised? Definitely in full “conference” mode – and definitely no cow-dung anywhere.

However, to prove that they can get their hands dirty, some of them got together to take this snapshot:

Image Credit: WAA

Showing that agronomists can be professional and fun – a group of professional peers… NOT a bunch taken on an outing from their sheltered workshop and missing their leader.

Plenty of good agronomizing will happen in Milan this week…