International Conference on "Tropical agriculture as last frontier? Food Import Needs of the Middle East and North Africa, Ecological Risks and New Dimensions of South-South Cooperation with Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia”
Barcelona, Spain
Jointly organized by The King’s College London (KCL), OCP Policy Center, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) and Wageningen University.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is among the most water-stressed regions in the world. Affordable food imports are crucial for its future food security and countries with tropical agriculture like Brazil have played an increasing role in MENA food supplies. Apart from policy options to sustainably intensify regional agricultural production, trade will play a crucial role for MENA economies to achieve food security.
Given the environmental value and sensitivity of tropical ecosystems sustainable intensification in countries like Brazil, Sub-Sahara Africa and South East Asia is crucial. For this reason, King’s College London (KCL), the OCP Policy Center, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), the Getulyo Vargas Foundation and Wageningen University organize an international conference on.
Tropical Agriculture as “Last Frontier”?
Food Import Needs of the Middle East and North Africa, Ecological Risks and New Dimensions of South-South Cooperation with Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia
The conference will take place on 28-30 January 2015 at the Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB). It provides an interdisciplinary perspective on how to open up opportunities for a new geopolitical-environmental cooperation between regions faced by either physical or economic water stress. Over a dozen academic papers will be presented, some of them will be later published in a special section of the academic journal Food Security. Topics range from trade maps and complementarities in food and input provision to environmental and biophysical risks, to opportunities for greater MENA collaboration with tropical economies and the role of agricultural technology transfer.
Particular attention is paid to the impact of climate variability and change on MENA food security and transboundary food-dependence. Possible transformation trajectories of farming systems in tropical zones are another issue of concern. Social and environmental needs in both regions need to be protected and ‘land grabbing’ avoided. Otherwise an increase in domestic and international food security would prove to be elusive.
Overall a picture emerges in which the potential for increased south-south cooperation is considerable. This calls for increased capacity building to facilitate such cooperation and know-how transfer.
Download the Conference Summury
Conference program
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Wednesday, January 28 th , 2015 |
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20:00
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Welcome Remarks Carles A. Gasoliba, President, Bercelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB) Dinner speech HE Said El Masri, Former Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of Sun Valley company for Agricultural investments, Jordan |
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Thursday, January 29th , 2015 |
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08:30 – 09:00
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Opening remarks Jordi Bacaria, Director, CIDOB Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center |
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09:15 – 10:00
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Keynote address John Waterbury, Professor emeritus Princeton University and former President of the American University of Beirut (AUB) |
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10:00 – 11:15
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Session 1 – Framing the Topic: The MENA and Tropical Agriculture Imports Setting the Scene: The global political economy, economic change and south-south cooperation Jeroen Warner, Wageningen University MENA and Tropical Agriculture Countries: Food trade relations and beyond Eckart Woertz, CIDOB Exporting the “Brazilian Model” to Africa? Challenges and pitfalls of tropical agriculture in the 21st Century Gabriela Marcondes, Research Institute for Work and Society, Leuven Transformation of Global Food Trade: Strategic Policy Options for the MENA Martin Keulertz, Purdue University Discussion moderated by Guy Jobbins, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) |
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11:15 – 11:45 |
Break |
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11:45 – 13:00
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Session 2 – Environment and Tropical Agriculture Moderator: The Land Grab Threat and Tropical Agriculture Countries Henk Hobbelink, GRAIN, Barcelona Scenarios for tropical agriculturalisation including the potential impacts of climate change, locally and along supply chains Mark Mulligan, King’s College, London The Brazilian Agricultural Model: Analysis and Prospects Marina Drummond, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil Tropical Soils and Agriculture: can tropical soils and crops yield enough? Violette Geissen, University of Wageningen (via Skype) Discussion moderated by Rabi Mohtar, Texas A&M University |
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13:00 – 14:30 |
Lunch Break |
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14:30 – 15:45
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Session 3 – Farming Land Tenure and Business Models: who will make all the money and at whose expense? The case of Brazilian soybean farmers Vanessa Empinotti, ABC Federal University – UFABC, Brazil The Water Transfer-Agribusiness Model in Peru: Socio-cultural and gender aspects Juana Vera Delgado, University of Wageningen, Gender and Water Alliance, Netherlands Agricultural Development Projects of IFAD in Burundi Rachid Doukkali, Institute Hassan II and Senior Fellow OCP Policy Center, Rabat, Morocco Discussion moderated by Anna Ayuso, CIDOB |
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15:45 – 16:15 |
Break |
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16:15 – 17:00
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Policy Panel I: What Role for Companies and the Private Sector? HE Said Al Masri, former Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of Sun Valley, Jordan Tony Allan, King’s College Guy Jobbins, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London Discussion moderated by Martin Keulertz, Purdue University |
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17:00 – 18:30
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Policy Panel II: Financing Tropical Ag and International Cooperation Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center, Khalida Bouzar, Director of the Near East, North Africa and Central Asia Division (NEN) at International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Riad Al Khouri, Development Equity Associates, Jordan Jeannie Sowers, University of New Hampshire Discussion moderated by Eckart Woertz, CIDOB |
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20:00
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Dinner Key-note speech Environmental Conflicts and What to do About Them Joan Martinez Alier, Universidad Autònoma Barcelona, |
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Friday, January 30 th , 2015 |
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19:00 – 10:15
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Session 4 – Case Studies from the MENA: Import Needs, Domestic Production and Social Contract Drivers of Food Trade: Water resource decoupling in the MENA as a mechanism for circumventing national water scarcity Michael Gilmont, King’s College The Political Economy of Food Price Policy in Egypt Ahmed Ghoneim, Cairo University Gulf countries and Iraq: Oil for Food? Eckart Woertz, CIDOB Discussion moderated by Jeannie Sowers, University of New Hampshire |
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10:15 – 11:30
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Session 5 – Case studies from Tropical Ag Countries and the MENA Said Zarouali, Division des Programmes Agricoles et du Développement Rural Direction de la Planification Haut Commissariat au Plan The Political Economy of Agro Lobbies in Maghreb Countries Francis Ghilès, CIDOB GCC Growth and East Africa’s Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Challenge: What role for the IsDB and Qatar in North Mozambique? Laurent A. Lambert, Europaeum (Oxford University) Reconciling Food and Water Security Objectives of MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa: Options and imperatives Tim Williams, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Accra Discussion moderated by Jeroen Warner, University of Wageningen |
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11:30–12:00 |
Break |
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12:00 – 13:15
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Session 6 – Case Studies from Tropical Agriculture Countries The Hidden Potential of Agroforestal Systems in the Coca Production Area of Chapare, Bolivia Eduardo Lopez Rosse, Department of Natural Resources-UMSS Cochabamba-Bolivia Grape Production in India for Global Markets and Gender Inequality Deepa Joshi, University of Wageningen Nigeria: The politics of rural development in a resource curse country Olantuji Akomolafe, President Village Pioneer Project, Akure, Nigeria Discussion moderated by Mark Mulligan, King’s College Discussion of the planned special section in the journal Food Security |
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13:30 – 14:45
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Concluding Panel: "Tropical agriculture and the MENA - a review of political, technical and economic challenges" Tony Allan, King’s College John Waterbury, Princeton University and AUB Rabi Mohtar, Texas A&M University Robert Springborg, Naval Postgraduate School and SciencesPo Discussion moderated by Martin Keulertz, Purdue University |
About CIDOB :
CIDOB, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, is Spain’s oldest international relations think tank. Since 1973 CIDOB has been an important reference in information and policy-oriented research in international issues, and it has gained growing recognition for its research and publications beyond Spanish borders. CIDOB is an independent, non partisan centre funded by a variety of local, national and international public and private actors which, according to the “Global Go To Think Tank” report issued yearly by the University of Pennsylvania, holds the 64th ranking position in the category of “Top Think Tanks Worldwide” and the 16th of Western Europe.
Its areas of geographical expertise include Europe, Latin America, the former Soviet space, Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East with a particular focus on issues such as regionalism, international migration, intercultural dialogue, development and human security. CIDOB participates in a number of research consortiums funded by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It is currently coordinating three major projects on the future of the Atlantic Space, Arab Youth and Integration policies of migrant population in the EU.
More about CIDOB on: www.cidob.org
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