2019 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium

17th October 2019
by secretary

Paepard

16-18 October 2019. Des Moines, Iowa. The “Borlaug Dialogue,” each year brings together over 1,200 people from more than 65 countries to address cutting-edge issues related to global food security and nutrition. The three-day conference convenes a wide array of scientific experts, policy leaders, business executives and farmers and has been called “the premier conference in the world on global agriculture.” Through the Borlaug Dialogue, the World Food Prize Foundation helps build alliances in the struggle against world hunger and malnutrition.

The theme for the 2019 Symposium, “Pax Agricultura: Peace Through Agriculture,” addressed the increasingly intersectional issues of food security, conflict and development. With topics ranging from religion, diplomacy, climate, scientific innovation, and corporate leadership, this year’s Dialogue served as an opportunity to take stock of the current state of global agriculture and food security.

Extracts of the programme:

Panel | Healing the Wounds: The Power of Agriculture in Post-Conflict Recovery

Ms. Heidi Kuhn, CEO, Roots of Peace
Hon. Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda
Dr. James Smith, CEO, Aegis Trust
Hon. Chanthol Sun, Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Cambodia
Moderator: Amb. Kenneth M. Quinn, President, World Food Prize Foundation

Panel | Food Security in the Next Decade: The Power of the Private Sector

Mr. James Collins, CEO, Corteva Agriscience
Mr. Liam Condon, President, Crop Science Division, Bayer AG
Mr. Erik Fyrwald, CEO, Syngenta
Dr. Chris Nelson, President & CEO, Kemin Industries
Ms. Josephine Okot, Managing Director, Victoria Seeds Ltd.
Moderator: Ms. Cynthia Hardin Milligan, President & CEO, Wood Stieper Capital Group

Keynote | The Gates Initiative Ten Years Later

Mr. Rodger Voorhies, President, Global Growth & Opportunity Division, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, Director, Center for Global Food Security

Panel | The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

H.E. Agnes Kalibata, President, AGRA
Dr. Emma Naluyima, Farmer and Private Veterinarian
Professor Joachim Von Braun, Director of The Center for Development Research, Co-Chair of the Malabo Montpellier Panel, University of Bonn

Panel | Getting to Zero Hunger: Research for Resiliency

Prof. Dr. Ir. Louise O. Fresco, President Executive Board Wageningen University & Research
Hon. Ken Isley, Administrator, USDA-FAS
Hon. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Administrator, USDA-ARS
Dr. Thomas Thompson, Associate Dean and Director of Global Programs, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Panel | Collaboration or Catastrophe: Global Trends in Agricultural Development

Dr. Shenggen Fan, Director General, IFPRI
Ambassador John Negroponte, Vice Chairman, McLarty Associates
Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director Emeritus & Member of Board of Trustees, Library of Alexandria, Egypt
Ambassador Josette Sheeran, President and CEO, Asia Society

2019 Borlaug Dialogue Breakout Sessions

U.S. – Africa Forum on Agricultural Technology

The U.S.-Africa AgTech Forum brought together stakeholders from government, business, academia and multilateral institutions to take stock of the agriculture sector in Africa and identify opportunities to enhance efficiency, productivity, and sustainability by incorporating technology across agricultural value chains.

Mwangi Kiunjuri – Cabinet Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, & Irrigation for the Republic of Kenya
Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful – Minister of Communications for the Republic of Ghana
Dr. Jennifer Blanke – Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development – African Development Bank
Dr. Ed Mabaya – Manager, Agribusiness Development – African Development Bank
Parmesh Shah – Global Lead for Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Jobs – World Bank
Tavonga Alex Siyavora – Program Manager – John Deere
Kommy Weldemarian – Chief Scientist – IBM Research- Africa
Mark Edge – Director of Collaborations for Developing Countries – Bayer
Mark Chiavello – Representative of South Africa to the United States – Standard Bank
Sara Eckhouse – Executive Director – Foodshot Global
Paul Sheppard – Founder Future Farms
Aboubacar Karim – CEO Investiv
Jehiel Oliver – CEO Hello Tractor
Paul Sheppard – Co-Founder – Future Farms South Africa

Systems for Change: Seeds and Vegetables to Transform Smallholder Agriculture for Global Food and Nutrition Security
Vegetable crops play a key role in addressing the triple burden of malnutrition (undernutrition, overweight and obesity) rapidly rising in many countries. Yet, due to a lack of quality seed, the power of vegetables remains an under-utilized tool for curbing these alarming trends. Backed by a more robust seed system, smallholder farmers can produce safe, nutritious vegetables to promote healthy diets, generate rural employment, and develop sustainable businesses for themselves and their communities.

Vimlendra Sharan – Director, Liaison Office for North America – FAO
David Beckmann – President Bread for the World and 2010 World Food Prize Laureate
Kenneth Quinn – President World Food Prize
Simon Groot – 2019 World Food Prize Laureate
Rob Bertram – Chief Scientist, Bureau for Food Security – USAID
Marco Ferroni – Chair, System Management Board CGIAR
Josephine Okot – Managing Director Victoria Seeds Ltd
Lindiwe Sibanda – Board Member World Vegetable Center
Ann Tutwiler – Strategic Adviser, Transforming Agri-Food Systems, and Board Chair Access to Seeds Foundation

Feed the Future Innovation Labs: The Global Payoff of Investing in Research for Development
This event showcased the innovations developed through the Feed the Future Innovation Labs and how they improve incomes and livelihoods in developing countries and provide benefits to the U.S. Six Innovation Lab’s will present findings BIFAD-commissioned study: “How the United States Benefits from Investments in Developing Country Agriculture and Food Security”.

Dr. Adegbola Adesogan – Director, Livestock Systems Innovation Lab and Chair Council of Innovation Lab Directors – University of Florida
Dr. Jack Payne – Associate Vice -President Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Florida, Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences
Beth Dunford – Assistant to the Administrator – USAID, Bureau for Food Security
Gebisa Ejeta – Board member, Board for Food and International Development (BIFAD); WFP laurate; Distinguished Professor – Purdue University
Brady Deaton – Board member, BIFAD; Chancellor Emeritus – University of Missouri
Tim Dalton – Director, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet – Kansas State University
Peter Goldsmith – Director, Soybean Innovation Lab – University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Pamela Anderson – Board member, BIFAD; Director General Emeritus – International Potato Center (CIP)

How Israel achieved its agriculture transformation: lessons for developing countries

Source: PAEPARD FEED