Session: Plant Production Systems within the rural-urban continuum Chair: Anthony Whitbread, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany With the ever rising effects of climate change, adaptation of crops and advanced scientific research at genetic levels, are facing major challenges due to the segregation effect on the unstable crop genotypes. The session of Plant Production systems covered a broad area dealing mainly with agricultural production, from crop protection aspects to crop modeling to combat climate change, with the aim of creating a sustainable agricultural system. The lead paper, by Manuel Tamo, an insect ecologist from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), presented a crop protection aspect specifically focusing on Biological Control. Manuele Tamo, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Benin. In his introduction of biological control, he emphasized on its importance in the integrated Pest management scheme, explaining the two types which involved Classical and Innovative methods, with the former method currently dying out as more farmers are adapting the integrated approach in pest control. In his elaborated presentation of a stepwise approach to this method, it was clear that a precise bio-control pipeline needed to be established from the discovery of bio-control candidate to their impact assessment. The major bio-controls being Bio-pesticides, Parasitoids, Entomopathogens and use of resistant varieties. From an agronomic point of view, variation of planting dates and using crops with a stable genotype was reported to overcome the deleterious effects of climate change at regional levels; this was based on weather and crop simulation models. However, challenges like variation in genotypes response as well as negative impact due to lack of adaptation were questioned by participants, who were raised concerns on the future production of improved varieties which has been targeted to cub segregation effects of the unstable genotypes. Virtual crop modeling for technology impact assessment tried to answer the issues that affect productivity by combining crop modeling and genetic manipulation coefficients. The model was found to respond to changes in genetic coefficient, however, the role of biotic stresses and the environmental niches were not well represented. Nevertheless, it could be easily concluded that crop modeling can make a good contribution to impact assessment (ex-ante), with a consideration for extension to include biotic factors as well as other useful parameters is still necessary. Concluding this session, improving production systems in a cost effective way, brought forward the organic approach, which has proven to be economically viable especially to small scale farmers. In summary, these discussion are ongoing, and areas of concern are attracting many discussions in the field of science.