On January 21, I had a chance to attend the 77th Berlin International Green Week (IGW) which is an international exhibition for the food, agricultural, and horticultural industries. I gave a keynote speech on Achieving Food and Nutrition Security while Switching to a Green Economy as part of the International Business Panel on “Food Security [...]

I had the chance to meet with the new FAO Director General, José Graziano da Silva on January 16 in Rome, together with Dr. Marie Ruel, the Division Director of IFPRI’s Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division. Dr. Graziano da Silva reiterated the key pillars of his mandate: targeting hunger, supporting sustainable food production and consumption [...]

I was very glad to participate in a stimulating conference on Transforming the Food Production System, from December 14-15 in London, United Kingdom. Over these two days, Chatham House, a leading UK think-tank brought together speakers from around the world to map-out opportunities and challenges for boosting agriculture in developing countries.
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On December 11, China celebrated its ten year anniversary as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Joining the WTO has been a significant “coming of age” step for the Chinese economy, presenting both opportunities and challenges for China’s future development.
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Earlier last month, I was invited to give a keynote speech on global food security at the First Brussels High Level Lecture on Food Security and Development, in Belgium. This first of its kind event was organized by the Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS, KULeuven) and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) with support from the European Commission (EC).
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Last week I participated in the Bonn2011 Conference on the Water, Energy, and Food Security Nexus (November 16-18 - Bonn, Germany). The Conference brought together stakeholders from the water, energy and food sectors to forge a common understanding of water-energy-food security linkages. As an Outcome Ambassador, I presented recommendations on “how to make the nexus work for the poor.” In particular, the impacts of energy and water strategies on food security, and vice versa, must be properly assessed. Also, methods for monitoring and measuring the outcomes and impacts of nexus approaches and initiatives are urgently needed.
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