Video message from Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
Video remarks from Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at PepsiCo, at the IFPRI 2020 Conference on "Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health," February 11, 2011, New Delhi, India.
Wole Soyinka video message to 2020 conference attendees
Video remarks from Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate in Literature from Nigeria, at the IFPRI 2020 Conference on "Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health," February 11, 2011, New Delhi, India.
Panel Discussion: Where are we now, where are we headed, and where do we want to be?
Today's opening plenary session featured comments by Per Pinstrup-Andersen from Cornell University, Francesco Branca of WHO and David Nabarro of the UN. Each speaker underscored the negative impacts of recent food price increases and overall volatility in agricultural markets on food security and nutrition, particularly among the poorest citizens in developing countries. According to Dr. Pinstrup-Andersen, this problem has been exacerbated by extreme weather events related to global climate change as well as by poorly informed expectations by speculators, traders and farmers and inadequate policy responses by governments. Effective policy interventions, meanwhile, will entail a clear understanding of the problem we are seeking to address- namely, that we must understand that the world is not running out of food yet citizens of developing countries continue face problems of access to adequate amounts of nutritious foods. read more
Keynote addresses underscore linkages between agriculture, nutrition and health
Hillary Clinton offers video remarks at 2020 Conference
Video remarks from US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the IFPRI 2020 Conference, "Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health," February 10, 2011, New Delhi, India.
Inaugural session panel outlines challenges, charts way forward
“We are standing face to face with some serious challenges: hunger, malnutrition, and poor health are denying billions of people the opportunity for a healthy, well-nourished, and productive life. Agriculture, which played a key role in feeding billions of poor in the world in the past, faces more volatile growing conditions due to changing climate and scarcer resources because of urbanization and population growth.”
So began tonight’s opening remarks by Shenggen Fan, Director General of IFPRI. Dr. Fan went on to conclude that “all of our efforts—whether in agriculture, nutrition, or health—are inextricably linked. We are more likely to succeed in addressing the challenges if we understand these links and put them to work for people’s benefit.”
Dr. Fan was followed by H.E. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. According to Dr. Singh, the conference’s central theme of “Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health” is of particular importance to India and many developing countries where the majority of the population depends on agriculture as its primary source of income. Dr. Singh pointed out that several studies in India have underscored a correlation between the agricultural productivity of a particular state and the nutritional status of its people, but warned that “malnutrition is a complex process in which habits regarding feeding the new born babies, maternal and child health, and also water quality are at least equally important.”
read more
Conference Issue Brochure is Now Available
"Most people would say that agriculture is for growing food, and on one level, they are right. The point of agriculture doesn’t stop there, however. At a deeper level, the purpose of agriculture is not just to grow crops and livestock, but to grow healthy, well-nourished people."
To read the entire 2020 Conference Issue Brochure, visit: http://www.ifpri.org/publication/agriculture-nutrition-health.
New Wikipedia Entry on Conference Themes
A new Wikipedia entry on "Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health" has been published, detailing the themes of the conference and acting as a portal for discussions on the linkages between the sectors. Prior to this entry, there were few resources for people researching the linkages between agriculture, nutrition, and health. The entry provides resources on agriculture, nutrition, and health, pointing readers to the conference website and other websites and literature discussing these connections. Wikipedia is an online, user-generated encyclopedia, where any internet user can create a topic and others users debate and discuss it, creating a consensus-generated body of information.
Fourth Policy Seminar Explores Obstacles and Potentials for Multi-Sectoral Linkages
IFPRI’s Annual Board of Trustees meeting offered an exciting backdrop for the fourth policy seminar leading into the 2020 conference. Facilitated by IFPRI Board Chair Fawzi Al-Sultan, the seminar featured the diverse perspectives of three leading experts from agriculture, nutrition, and health.
read more