Program

Morning: Special Keynote Address
Moderator: Humberto Monardes, McGill University

Improved Food Security with Nutrition: Collective Solutions, Limitless Benefits
Venkatesh Mannar
President, Micronutrient Initiative (MI), Ottawa, ON

Session 1: Linkages between Agriculture and Nutrition in Fighting Food Insecurity and Hunger
The fight against malnutrition in all its forms – acute and chronic undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity- requires a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach bringing together, among other disciplines, agriculture and nutrition with complementary interventions in public health and education. Improving agriculture to produce more and better food remains a fundamental challenge, but there is much more that needs to be done in eradicating malnutrition. While improving productivity of staple foods, greater attention needs to be paid to the production of nutrient-dense foods. Food supply chains can be enriched by increasing the availability and access to a larger variety of nutritious foods, which consumption needs to be promoted in a more intensive manner. This session will address the fundamental linkages that exist between agriculture and nutrition, as well as the existing evidence gaps in knowledge on how to improve the impact of agriculture-based interventions in the food security and nutrition status of vulnerable populations.

Co-Chairs:
Ajjamada Kushalappa, McGill University
Claudia Ringler, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC

Panelists:
Brent Swallow, Professor and Chair, Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Carol Henry, Associate Professor and Acting Head, Division of Nutrition, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Saskatoon, SK
Rick Sunstrum, Ethiopia Project Director, Safety Net Support Facility Project (SNSF), Agriteam Canada, Gatineau, QC
Berhanu Woldemichael, Director, Food Security Coordination Directorate, Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector, Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Felister Wambugha Makini, Deputy Director Outreach & Partnerships, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Nairobi, Kenya

Session 2: Global Approaches in the Fight against Food Insecurity and Hunger
National and international agencies and institutions of diverse nature are developing and carrying out a broad variety of interventions aimed to improve the food security and nutrition status of vulnerable populations. Given the growing connections between countries within an increasingly globalized world, agencies working throughout the world face the challenge on how to address food insecurity taking into account learned lessons from different regions. In addition, a better understanding of the global food supply chain requires an approach that incorporates a global perspective of the international food system, from food producers working in one country to food consumers in another part of the planet. This session aims to discuss how international institutions and agencies address the challenges of a global scenario when fighting food insecurity and hunger among the poorest people in the world.

Co-Chairs:
Timothy Johns, McGill University
Gordon Hickey, McGill University

Panelists:
Thomas Pesek, Partnership Officer, North American Liaison Office, Partnership and Resource Mobilization, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Washington, DC
Dolf te Lintelo, Fellow, Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, England
Mark Fryars, Vice-President, Programs & Technical Services, Micronutrient Initiative, Ottawa, ON
The Honorable Michel Chancy, Secrétaire d'État à la Production animale,  Ministère de l’Agriculture des Ressources Naturelles et du Développement Rural, Haïti

Afternoon: Special Keynote Address
Moderator: Humberto Monardes, McGill University

Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Security: Threat or Opportunity?
Calestous Juma
Professor of the Practice of International Development, Director, Science, Technology and Globalization Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA

Session 3: Future Generations and the Emerging Challenges on Food Insecurity and Hunger
The fight against food insecurity and hunger requires future professionals with a training that includes theoretical and practical aspects of the knowledge on food security across a wide diversity of disciplines. The new leadership in global food security will come from programs building professionals used to think, assess, analyze, and propose action while connecting multiple disciplines and incorporating the views and needs of different sectors. This session presents efforts and ideas by members of the future leadership, called to undertake the emerging challenges of food insecurity and hunger.

Co-Chairs:
Caroline Begg, McGill University
Bruce Moore, People Centered Development, Ottawa, ON

Panelists:
Rachel Krause, PhD candidate, Institute of Parasitology, McGill University
Shrikalaa Kannan, PhD candidate, Bioresource Engineering, McGill University
Colleen Eidt, PhD candidate, Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University
Mohammed Ashour, MD-CM-MBA candidate, McGill University
Shobhita Soor, BCL-LLB-MBA candidate , McGill University

Session 4: Policies and Programs against Food Insecurity and Hunger
Governments and non-governmental institutions at national and international level are discussing and developing policies and programs to better address food insecurity and hunger. In addition, they are putting in place a large number of interventions of diverse magnitude that demonstrate the willingness of a wide range of actors to work on this issue. However, usually responses to food insecurity and hunger by different actors are disparate and sometimes incompatible, which might be due to the lack of a policy environment and structure that allows for clearer guidance, common goals, and coordination. This session will focus on how from a policy and programmatic perspective the challenges related to food insecurity can be addressed in a sustainable way, while helping people access enough foods of such a nutritional quality that allows them to meet their dietary requirements for a healthy and active life.

Co-Chairs:
Philip Oxhorn, McGill University
Noel Solomons, Co-founder and Scientific Director, Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala

Panelists:
Yurie Tanimichi Hoberg, Senior Economist on the Rural Strategy and Policy Group, Agriculture and Rural Development Department, World Bank, Washington, DC
Richard Munang, Africa Regional Climate Change Coordinator, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Kenya
Annette Desmarais, Associate Professor, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
Diana Bronson, Executive Director, Food Secure Canada, Montreal, QC

Health break

Announcement of poster presentation winners

Wrap Up Session

Facilitator: Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez, Director, McGill Institute for Global Food Security

Audia Barnett, Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture, Ottawa,  ON

Poster Session (sponsored by Erin Hogg)
Networking & refreshments