Robin Bourgeois, Senior Foresight and Development policies Expert in the Executive Secretariat of GFAR, attended The Economist’s Conference “Feeding the World 2013, Accelerating Global Collaboration on Food Security”, in Amsterdam, January 30, 2013 as an invited delegate.

 

The Conference, the second of its name, brought together high-level stakeholders from the private sector, Governments, NGOS and academia. Speakers and panellists addressed various dimensions of food security, the widely-touted challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050 and related issues of production increases and loss reduction.

 

Presentations and discussions highlighted the central role of small farmers, the importance of understanding better future consumption patterns, the challenge of reducing wastes and losses in the entire agri-food system. The potential of wild fish as an environment-friendly source of protein,  small-scale production of bio-charcoal or intelligent fertilizers were highlighted as some new avenues. For a critical review of this Conference, read in the next issue of the New Agriculturalist the Perspective section on Feeding the world: paradigm shift or incremental improvements?

 

by Robin Bourgeois.