FACING THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS: The Role of Research, Training and South Australian Expertise
The forum, “Facing the Global Food Crisis: The role of research, training and SA expertise”, was held on Friday, 21 November 2014 at SARDI, Waite Institute Campus. It was an opportunity to hear from some of the remarkable people from SA who are delivering training and research projects overseas, through the Crawford Fund and ACIAR, with major benefits to other countries and also to SA, and to discuss how, together, we can accelerate a virtuous cycle of further improvement.
The program, presentations and photos from the forum are available to download.
SA makes a significant contribution to Australia’s effort at improving global food security. Surprisingly, whilst we are a major food trading nation, our greatest help is through the export of scientific technologies, created by over a century of agricultural research to improve our own food production. This knowledge is now being applied in many developing countries to foster their sustainable agricultural systems, creating long-lasting goodwill which flows on to benefit our broader bilateral and trade relations. This agricultural research assists farmers not only in the developing world, but also here, to a value exceeding what we spend on it.
Global food security remains a pressing issue despite huge advances in recent years. Human population is expected to increase to 9.6 billion by 2050 and Asia still accounts for 62 per cent of all undernourished people in the world. This poses ongoing threats to regional stability, emerging markets and trade. Along with the demand for better food from a burgeoning global middle class, it will place unprecedented stress on food supplies but also create opportunities for food and technology exporting countries such as Australia.
Related Materials
International Agricultural Research Working for South Australia (flyer)