Securing our food future

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Tags: international, winter-2012

US Presidential Special Envoy to Africa and US State Department Advisor on Food Security, Professor Gebisa Ejeta

Leading experts gathered to discuss the growing issue of global food security at a special UQ event held at the Australian Embassy in Washington in November.

Hosted by the Global Change Institute (GCI), the day-long conference was followed by an evening address from the US Presidential Special Envoy to Africa and US State Department Advisor on Food Security, Professor Gebisa Ejeta (pictured).

In his welcome and introduction to the evening session, Australian Ambassador to the USA, the Honourable Kim Beazley AC said it was pleasing to see new scientific collaborations develop between the US and Australia, especially around such a globally important issue as food security.

Professor Ejeta, who was named the 2009 World Food Prize Laureate, said hunger and poverty could be alleviated through an application of science, technology and innovation.

“We will need to be better advocates of science to awaken our political leaders and incite their resolve and commitment to invest in science and technology, so generations of scientists can commit to meeting these challenges head on,” he said.

With nearly one billion of the world’s population facing hunger daily and 2.6 billion people earning less than $2 per day, the issue of food security and poverty alleviation is rapidly becoming one the world’s most pressing challenges.

Conference participants included representatives from the GCI, USAID, World Food Program, International Food Policy Research Institute, International Relief and Development, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and Purdue University. UQ alumni were also invited to attend Professor Ejeta’s speech.

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