Integrated science for a food secure region: conference morning Keynote Address

August 20, 2026

At the 2026 Crawford Fund Annual Conference, Emerging Voices Shaping Regional Integration for a Food Secure World, we were honoured to have Dr Sandra Milach, Chief Scientist of CGIAR, a global research partnership of 13 agricultural research centers focused on creating sustainable food solutions and a world without hunger, present the morning keynote address. Her address was titled “Integrated science for a food-secure region: what the next decade of investment must deliver.”  

Dr Milach noted that integrated research is already delivering in practice. Where crop breeding, water management and climate adaptation are designed to work together, the outcomes show up in farmers’ fields: higher yields, more resilient harvests, and evidence that governments can use to shape policy. However, urgent investment is needed to turn research into innovations farmers can use, to sustain the partnerships behind it, and to build the long-term capability the region will draw on for decades.

The Crawford Fund’s annual conference – Australia’s key food security event – was held in the Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra on 11 August with over 400 experts, policymakers, researchers, students and leaders hearing from specialists from Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Australia.

View the recording of the keynote address, chaired by Ms Su McCluskey FCPA FTSE, Chair of the Crawford Fund for Food Security, below:

Dr Milach concluded her address with three key messages.

“First, the science that helps farmers adapt is the science that joins the pieces up. Food, land, water and climate work as one system. That is what delivers in the field and the evidence for this is very strong,” she said.

“The second is a practical point which recognises agriculture research for what

it is – long-term strategic infrastructure. That’s how governments should look at this. You don’t do it project by project, you do it for the long term and it should be treated in that way. Funded steadily and for the long term rather than in short cycles rather than in response to crisis. How we support this research matters as much as how much we spend on it,” she added.

“And, let me finish with a third point to recognise where we need each other for this. No country adapts to this alone. We get there by working as one system across disciplines, across borders and as partners. As the largest public goods international agriculture research organisation, CGIAR is here to serve you, to partner with you, so we can together address food security and food systems challenge and build a better future for all of us,” she concluded.