27 sept. 2012
00:00
Conference // "Feeding The World: Asia's Prospect of Plenty", Hong Kong
The inaugural Feeding the World: Asia's prospects of plenty summit took place on September 27th in Hong Kong. Underpinning the event was the question raised by The Economist's globalisation editor, John Parker, chairperson of the summit and author of the eponymous special report-Will there be enough food to feed the world's population, which is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050?
Distinguished speakers across Asia-Pacific convened to discuss Asia's specific challenges and how governments, companies and international bodies ought to address those challenges. The summit was structured with three pillar panel discussions on trade, agriculture, health and nutrition. Policymakers from Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Taiwan and Philippines opened each panel discussion with their "Policy perspective".
Provocative remarks from Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia, and other speakers were well-received by participants that included senior representatives from corporate, multilateral and advocacy groups included Cargill, Jain Irrigation, Monsanto, Syngenta, PepsiCo, BASF Group, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UN World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, International Food Policy Research Institute, International Rice Research Institute, Food Industry Asia and the World Bank. The conference closed with a one-on-one interview with Melinda Gates via video from Arusha, Tanzania, where she was also speaking at the African Green Revolution Forum.
The next summit in the global Feeding the World series from The Economist, will be Feeding the World: Africa's role in solving the global food crisis.