Policy Dialogue/Series/Special Event
Against the grain: Could farmers feed the world and heal the planet?
Co-organized by IFPRI and The CGIAR Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions
Virtual Event
August 27, 2024

Humanity relies on agriculture to provide nourishment, yet there is an urgent need to reduce the agricultural sector’s environmental footprint. Meeting these two goals is crucial for both people and the planet to thrive. Please join us for a conversation featuring Roger Thurow, award-winning author and journalist, whose recently released book argues it is possible for farmers to meet these two critical objectives. 

This seminar will discuss the importance of heeding the wisdom and experiences of the world’s smallholder, Indigenous, and family farmers, who are facing the effects of climate change and environmental degradation firsthand as they endeavor to earn a living and feed their families and communities. Perspectives from farmers will highlight how the practices of agroforestry, agroecology, and regenerative agriculture can provide food to nourish humanity while also protecting the environment. The seminar will also discuss how science and research, including the work of CGIAR, and investment and financing has contributed to enhancing the work of these farmers and transforming food systems for people and the planet.

Welcome Remarks

Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI
Speakers

Roger Thurow, Award-winning author and journalist; Former Senior Fellow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Jackson Kinyanjui Koimbori, Senior Circular Economy and Climate Change Coordinator, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA)
Wei Zhang, Senior Research Fellow, Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, IFPRI; Co-lead of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems (Mitigate+)
Evalyne Okoth, Farmer, The CGIAR Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions, Nyando, Kenya
Jonathan Mockshell, Senior Agricultural Economist, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT
Closing Remarks

Carlo Fadda, Director, Agrobiodiversity, Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT; Lead, Nature-Positive Solutions Research Initiative
Moderator

Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI

Links:
Purchase  the book:https://www.amazon.com/Against-Grain-Farmers-Transforming-Agriculture/dp/1572843403

More about this Event: https://www.ifpri.org/event/against-the-grain-could-farmers-feed-the-world-and-heal-the-planet/

Subscribe IFPRI Insights newsletter and event announcements at www.ifpri.org/content/newsletter-subscription

Against the grain: Could farmers feed the world and heal the planet?

Introductory Remarks by Geraldo B. Martha Jr., Coordinator, Embrapa, Labex-USA
 
Successful agricultural transformations around the world provide critical lessons and offer insights into opportunities for other countries seeking to take this step forward.

 
At this special event, we will learn about Brazil’s agricultural transformation from Embrapa’s President, Maurício Lopes. IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan will share insights from Asian countries, ERS Administrator Mary Bohman will review the experience of the United States, and Asia-Brazil Agro Alliance President Marcos Jank will discuss the role of the food industry in agricultural transformation.

IFPRI Special Event:  Transforming Agriculture - 5/15/2018 - GMartha

Speaker: Marcos Sawaya Jank, President, Asia-Brazil Agro Alliance and IFPRI Board member
 
Successful agricultural transformations around the world provide critical lessons and offer insights into opportunities for other countries seeking to take this step forward.
 
At this special event, we will learn about Brazil’s agricultural transformation from Embrapa’s President, Maurício Lopes. IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan will share insights from Asian countries, ERS Administrator Mary Bohman will review the experience of the United States, and Asia-Brazil Agro Alliance President Marcos Jank will discuss the role of the food industry in agricultural transformation.

IFPRI Special Event:  Transforming Agriculture - 5/15/2018  - M.Jank

What happens when a child is malnourished? Can such a child ever “catch up” later in life? Why does urbanization and obesity seem to go hand in hand—and what does this mean for food production? We’ll explore big picture food system questions today on the Leading Voices in Food with our guest Dr. Shenggen Fan.

The Leading Voices in Food

Shenggen Fan on Hunger, Climate Change and the Hope of Innovation

Speaker: William A. Masters, Professor, Tufts University

Interventions and innovation can lower the price of individual foods, but healthy eating depends on access to a mix of foods from diverse sources. How has the overall cost of meeting dietary needs changed over time worldwide, and in Africa and South Asia specifically? What determines the cost of a healthy diet? And how does affordability affect dietary intake and health status in different locales?

To answer these questions, Changing Access to Nutritious Diets in Africa and South Asia (CANDASA) (https://sites.tufts.edu/candasa) has been using new food price indexes that account for food substitutions to meet nutritional needs to evaluate food systems all over the world, including in Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Malawi, and Tanzania.

This seminar will present the outcomes of CANDASA’s work to date, with a panel discussion featuring field researchers from each country to discuss the local and global implications of their results.

Research by Tufts and IFPRI on this topic is supported by UKAid and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

IFPRI Policy Seminar:  What is the Cost of a Healthy Diet? - 5/29/2019 - WMasters

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. Established in 1975, IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 50 countries. It is a research center of CGIAR, a worldwide partnership engaged in agricultural research for development.

Against the grain: Could farmers feed the world and heal the planet?

International Food Policy Research Institute

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