World hunger is something that is actively happening right now all over. Last Wednesday Purdue University recently hosted the Board of International Food and Agricultural Development. BIFAD opened its meeting to the public with a panel of experts in the science and policy of food production and food security from Purdue and around the country.
The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, or BIFAD, was created as a part of the 1975 amendment to the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act, Title XII Famine Prevention and Freedom from Hunger. This called for an engagement of U.S. universities to partner with the government in dispensing technical assistance to poor nations around the world. The president of the United States appoints all board members.
Panelists for the event included: Ted McKinney, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture; Jim Moseley, farmer and former USDA undersecretary of natural resources; Scott Hutchins, global R and D leader and Dow Agro-Sciences; Betty Bugusu, managing director of International Food Technology; Dieudonn Baributsa, research assistant professor (Purdue Improved Crop Storage); and Gary Burniske, managing director, Center for Global Food Security (Borlaug Fellows Program). Jay Akridge, dean of agriculture, was the moderator for the panel.
The session began with USAID Acting Administrator and Ambassador Alfonso E. Lenhardt. Lenhardt was the US Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania from 2009 to 2013. Ambassador Lenhardt noted, "Purdue University has been a key partner in our efforts to fight hunger and malnutrition across the globe." Lenhardt also discussed the Feed the Future Initiative that BIFAD has been instrumental with.
"In 2014 alone, Feed the Future helped nearly 7 million farmers boost their harvest with new technologies and other innovations and we reached more than 12 million children with nutrition interventions, putting them on a path to a much brighter future," said Lenhardt. There is still a great deal of work to be done. However, by the year 2050, it is estimated that the world population will reach 9 billion people. With a population that large, it is necessary that we increase agricultural production by 60 percent.
Panelist Jim Moseley discussed the biggest barriers to food security. Moseley believes that there is an issue with how we govern ourselves. He noted that we don't always get policy and when we do, it comes as the result of a crisis.
"There are innovative technologies that can be put in place and we have the responsibility to make sure, that as things go forward, those happen," Moseley stated.
Land-based technology has given agriculture some more precision Moseley noted.
Soil health was also a topic Moseley discussed with the hope of significant improvement coming soon. There is a decline in soil productivity as it relates to soil health.
"We can talk about genetics and improving the productivity of agriculture from that and getting those 9 billion people fed in 2050, but we will not get there if we depend on genetics alone," Moseley said.
Ted McKinney was next, said discussing the role that Indiana has in feeding 9 billion people. McKinney he is trying to keep the government out of the way and let farmers and agribusinesses do their thing. McKinney also stated how well Indiana agriculture works together. He commented that in the government, they are working hard to get things done.
Dow AgroSciences Scott Hutchins discussed the industry perspective on the issues of technology in the developing world. Hutchins started out by telling the board and the audience that those new technologies are what will help feed the growing world Hutchins also noted said that public policy is important, but science policy is incredibly important. It is imperative that scientist understand the problem so that they can contribute to the solution that is being sought after. Hutchins also said that we have to develop goals that will help us reach the end result.
Betty Bugusu is the director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for food processing and post harvest handling. Bugusu discussed the four major components of the innovation, which include, the drying of grains, storage of grains, food processing, and nutrition. Bugusu noted that partnerships are very important to their work.
The goal of the program is to increase access to safe and nutritious foods as well as looking to open market opportunities for smaller farmers. One partner that Feed the Future has is A to Z Textiles in East Africa. The company is working to develop storage technologies that can be adapted in the regions they are working. Women typically do the post harvest work in developing countries. Feed the Future is working to teach these countries how to affordably and efficiently do this work.
Research assistant professor Dieudonn Baributsa discussed the Purdue Improved Crop Storage or PICS. The PICS program is designed to promote technology. The program uses PICS triple bags in storage to control insect pests of crops. He stressed that technology for farmers in developing countries cannot be expensive because we have to teach farmers how to use the technology. They already know it exists, but they need access to it.
Rounding out the panel discussion was Gary Burniske. Burniske discussed the impact of the Fellows Program. The program is all about individual and institutional capacity building according to Burniske.
"It is designed to increase the number of outstanding U.S. food security professionals equipped with scientific knowledge to effectively manage global landscapes that support sustainable food production systems," said Burniske.
The program also accepts graduate students of a wide variety. Students work with a scientist mentor within their host research institution and spend anywhere from six months to two years in residence. While there, they collect field trials and other information that can contribute towards their thesis.
"Today we have 110 graduate students from 45 universities across the United States at 43 research centers in 38 developing countries with most students clustered in Feed the Future countries," noted Burniske.
Global Hunger is real. Children in developing countries are stunted in growth and are nutritionally behind. The Board of International Food and Agricultural Development is working with universities around the country to help build the technology to teach farmers how to sustainably grow their food and how to put more nutrition into the food they are producing. In less than 40 years, there will be roughly 9 billion people and it is time to step up, and help feed the future now.