The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) and the Crops For the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) jointly organised and hosted a global forum on food and nutritional security at a two day meeting.
This forum was the second in a series of three that are supported by the University of Nottingham with funding from the University Global Food Security Research Priority Group and the UK Higher Education Fund (HEIF).
The purpose of the forum was to bring together international experts from different disciplines and backgrounds to address and debate the issues of food security, with a particular focus on nutritional security within the ASEAN region.
“Achieving global food security is a reality which the world faces, it is a challenge brought upon us by the development of the world and increasing global population and one which needs to be addressed critically,” said Professor Christine Ennew, CEO and Provost of UNMC at her welcome speech.
“As a university which conducts global groundbreaking research, we are at the forefront of leading research in this field which has consequences for governance and policy, distribution and production, climate change and environmental and societal impact and waste,” Professor Ennew said.
Citing recent publications, Professor Sayed Azam–Ali, CEO of Crops For the Future Research Centre said that the wide range of predicted increases in global temperatures had implications for agriculture. In addition to reductions in crop yields, there were implications for the nutritional content of the world’s most important food crops. The consequences of such changes were unpredictable but increased the risk to agricultural systems, especially where these are based on a narrow range of crops grown as monocultures.
During the two day meeting, speakers from Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia highlighted a range of issues that affect and can help to ameliorate food and nutritional security. These were grouped under broad subject headings of;
• Dietary diversification
• Nutrition and health
• Sustainable supply of safe, nutritious and quality food
• Innovative approaches to address food and nutritional insecurity
“As a research community, we need to provide options to support a `Plan B’ that will diversify the human food chain to meet global nutritional demands in climates of the future. For this, we need to foster research partnerships, establish `research value chains’ and provide credible evidence for the greater use of underutilised crops and cropping systems” Professor Sayed said during his presentation.
The meeting provided a platform for discussion and fostering of ideas and research and action networks to continue developing sustainable and innovative approaches to the global problem of food and nutritional security.
About CFFRC
Crops For the Future Research Centre is an independent organisation dedicated to research on underutilised crops. It is guaranteed by the Government of Malaysia and the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also the most popular university among graduate employers, the world’s greenest university, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World's Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 10th July 2014