Feeding the Region: expert roundtable on food security

EXPERTS from around Australia and beyond are gathering in Canberra to explore the challenges of ‘Feeding and Energising Emerging Asia and the Pacific: Opportunities for Australia and New Zealand’ at the 60th Annual Conference of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.

The Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade is conducting an inquiry into the role of Australian aid and our development partnerships through promoting agribusiness to reduce poverty and enhance stability in the Indo–Pacific region.

The Sub-Committee will hear from these visiting experts at the first public hearing for the inquiry at Parliament House, Canberra, on Thursday 4 February.  

The Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP, Sub-Committee Chair, said a roundtable exchange will explore experiences with experts from China, Indonesia, the United States and Australia. The focus will be on the economic and social underpinnings of food security in an evolving global market place, including how traditional foods are being replaced or transformed by modern production and supply methods in the Indo–Pacific region.

“To meet future food demands will require improvements in productivity, market systems, resource management and governance”, Dr Stone said. “The transition to more efficient or profitable production must also translate into better nutrition for the world’s poor.”

“The inquiry will consider how governments, NGOs and business can work with locals to overcome the stunting or obesity and consequent non-communicable diseases which now beset some of our nearest neighbours.”

Senior officers from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research will also take part in the round table.

Time: 12:45pm to 2:00pm        

Venue: Committee Room 1S4
Parliament House, Canberra

A live audio broadcast will be available at http://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Parliament

Further details about the inquiry, including copies of submissions and how to contribute, can be obtained from the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/jfadt or by contacting the committee secretariat on (02) 6277 2313 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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