The business of food security: Profitability, sustainability and risk

The Crawford Fund’s annual conference on food security, which holds the key place in the development and food security calendar, will this year be held during the Parliamentary sitting week of 10-12 August 2015.The conference will focus on the importance of collaboration and partnership between the public and private sectors to achieve sustainable intensification and improved food security. 

The reason for our focus on the private sector this year is that we believe meeting future food demand within the limits of the earth’s natural resources is a pressing challenge with critically important roles for both the public and private sectors. Innovation underpinned by targeted research investment is critical to achieve sustainable intensification of agricultural production.

 “We see that new visions are needed for both the public and private sectors to maintain sustainability while ensuring profitability for those relying on and contributing to food security. We want this year’s conference to help shape these longer term visions. (The Hon John Kerin AM, Chairman, The Crawford Fund).

The conference will connect with business to explore new directions in research and sustainable sourcing already being taken by the private sector and to assess the implications of this for public policy and a new generation of public private partnerships.

 

The conference will include the:

• Sir John Crawford Memorial Address, presented by Dr Cary Fowler, crop diversity advocate who has overseen the development of the Svalbard Global ‘doomsday’ Seed Vault; and networking dinner on 10 August,
• full day Parliamentary Conference on 11 August, and the
• Parliamentary Breakfast on 12 August.

Keynote speakers include:

• Mr Chris Brett - Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Olam International

• Mr Anthony Pratt - Chairman and CEO of Pratt Industries and Global Chairman of Visy Industries

• Her Excellency Gerda Verburg - Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN Organizations for Food and Agriculture, Chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Food and Nutrition Security

A full list of conference speakers and their bios is on the Speakers page.

We hope to have even more young agricultural scientists to our event this year through our Conference Scholarships and hope you will consider supporting additional young people to attend through a donation to this effort.

A flyer for the conference can be downloaded at the link below:

2015 Conference Flyer (PDF)

 

SOURCE: www.crawfordfund.org

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