Conference Program (2008)

Conference Program
September 24, 2008

Conference Co-Chairs
Right Honourable Joe Clark, McGill Centre for Developing-Area Studies
Mr. Richard Pound, Chancellor, McGill University

Wednesday, September 24
Salon Cartier, Centre Mont-Royal
2200 Mansfield Street

The global food crisis also affects people locally. A collection of non-perishable food items will be taken at the door and will be donated to the Sun Youth Organization for distribution to Montreal’s needy.

17h00                          World Food Supplies: Challenges and Future Prospects
                             Kanayo F. Nwanze
                             Vice-President, International Fund for Agricultural Development

                                    Sun Youth: a local portrait of the food shortage
                             Nicolas Carpentier
                             Sun Youth Organization

Thursday, September 25
Salle Prince Arthur, New Residence Hall, McGill University
3625 Avenue du Parc

09h00 – 12h00             Voices from the Field

Co-Chairs: Donald L. Smith, McGill University and Tim Ogilvie, University of Prince Edward Island

Participants from developing countries will speak on their specific country experiences, impacts on food accessibility and various socio-economic impacts.

Speakers:

Open discussion

12h00 – 13h00             Lunch

13h00 – 15h00             The World Food Situation

Co-Chairs: Anwar Naseem and Caroline Begg, McGill University

Rising fuel prices, increased demand for meat and other food products in large countries such as China and India, high input costs, poor harvests due to climatic factors, population growth, and use of food products and food producing lands to produce biofuels are among some of the major factors that have led to the current global food crisis. The result has been the inability, particularly by over 700 million rural poor in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to secure food at traditionally lower prices. There has been hoarding of rice in Asia which has cause a sharp rise in rice prices. All these factors have led to food riots, political and socio-economic instability, and to malnutrition and hunger. It is estimated that food stocks are at their lowest levels in 30 years. Speakers will present information and data on the current world food supply and demands.

Speakers:
Anwar Naseem, McGill University
Robert Zeigler, International Rice Research Institute
Maximo Torero, International Food Policy Research Institute
Neil Conklin, Farm Foundation
François Dagenais, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Responses from the Panel:
Douglas Hedley, Canadian Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
Ken Ash, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
John Scott, Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers

Open discussion

15h00 – 15h30             Break

15h30 – 17h30              Underlying Factors

Co-Chairs: Grace Marquis and GSV Raghavan, McGill University

Speakers will discuss the impacts of biofuels, commodity prices, world markets and trade, climate change, energy, and market speculation on the global food crisis.

Speakers:
Jack Wilkinson, International Federation of Agricultural Producers
Al Mussell, George Morris Centre
Sandra Polaski, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Ted Boyle, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Shellemiah Keya, Africa Rice Centre (WARDA)

Responses from the Panel:
Gordon Bacon, Pulse Canada
Gaétan Lussier, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute
John Galaty, McGill University

Open discussion

17h30 – 19h00              Dinner break (on your own)

19h00 – 21h00             The International Response

Co-Chairs: Philip Oxhorn, McGill Centre for Developing-Area Studies and Mohammed Ait Kadi, General Council of Agricultural Development, Morocco

International agencies have been asked by political leaders to help find solutions to the food crisis, and to develop short and long term strategies to help meet the food needs of the developing countries. Representatives of these organizations will speak on the responses to date and their strategies for helping curb the crisis.

Speakers:
Henk-Jan Brinkman, World Food Programme
Daniel Gustafson, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations
Mohammed Mukhier, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Ken Ash, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
M. Gopalakrishnan, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage

Responses from Panel:
Caroline Pestieau, International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
Mark Curtis, McGill University
Sandra Polaski, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Open discussion

Friday, September 26
Salle Prince Arthur, New Residence Hall, McGill University
3625 Avenue du Parc

09h00 – 11h30             Getting Food to the People – Success Stories

Co-Chairs: Gaétan Lussier, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute and Daniel Gustafson, Food and Agriculture Organization

Non Governmental Organizations and the private sector have had to rise to the urgent demands for delivering food to communities in need. Some countries have also had success stories in meeting food demands. Speakers will describe their various efforts and provide personal insights as to what lessons can be learned from some of the success stories.

Speakers:
Jim Cornelius, Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Zhu Jing, Nanjing Agricultural University
Hon. Robert Persaud, Minister of Agriculture, Guyana
Carole Robert, Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Africa Foundation (BDA)
M. Gopalakrishnan, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage

Responses from Panel:
Jean-Paul Laforest, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Université Laval
Tim Ogilvie, University of Prince Edward Island
Sheri Arnott, CHF-Partners in Rural Development, on behalf of the Canadian Food Security Policy Group

Open discussion

11h30 – 12h00             Break

12h00                           Lunch

12h00 – 14h00             The Way Forward: Elements of a Framework for Managing
                                      the Crisis and Concluding Remarks

Convenors: Nicholas Kasirer, Dean of Law and Chandra Madramootoo, Dean of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University

This concluding session will take the key points from each session to build a Framework for Canadian Action. The goal is to make use of the presentations and discussions of the entire conference, in order to identify a way forward for managing the global food crisis in the longer term.

Guest Speaker:
Hon. Michael Chong, MP for Wellington-Halton Hills

Panel:
Craig Bremner, TD Canada Trust
Her Excellency Judith Mbula Bahemuka, Kenya High Commissioner to Canada
Mohammed Ait Kadi, General Council of Agricultural Development, Morocco
His Excellency Iyorwuese Hagher, High Commissioner of Nigeria
Jim Cornelius, Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Jack Wilkinson, International Federation of Agricultural Producers
Paul LaFlèche, Deputy Minister, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture
Daniel Gustafson, Deputy Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations
Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, McGill Centre for Developing-Area Studies
Mr. Richard Pound, Chancellor, McGill University