Qatar to host mega global conference on food security

Policy-makers, top academia, scientists, experts from food security, water management, agriculture and economics from 60 countries will join discussions at the two-day International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands (FSDL) to be held in Doha, a senior official said here yesterday. The conference, to be held here on November 14 and 15, is being organised under the auspices of HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP) Chairman Fahad bin Mohamed al-Attiya. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is partner of this conference. QNFSP Chairman Senior Adviser Taysir al-Ghanem told Qatar News Agency (QNA) yesterday, “Ministers, government official, experts and representatives from 60 countries representing food security, water management, financial institutions and NGOs will attend the conference. The deliberations over two days, to be held at Qatar University, will include ministerial level dialogue and at the end of conference there will be a Doha Declaration.” Besides ministers, senior government officials and policy developers, the conference will assemble experts, development practitioners and representatives of international and regional organisations. The speakers for the FSDL conference include officials from Unesco and World Bank. The conference will focus on the three thematic areas - food security, water management and responsible investment - under which a number of key topics will be discussed by the delegates. The first day’s plenary session will see ministerial dialogue on dry land agriculture and food security, climate change and the links between food, water and energy. There will be 12 technical sessions addressing various challenges and issues of food security and water resources. The opening and closing ceremonies and the Ministerial Dialogue sessions will be held at the Ibn Khaldoun Conference Hall at Qatar University while the parallel thematic sessions will be held at the auditorium, in the New Library building. Ten international organisations - World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Unesco, International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Kings College London, Qatar Foundation, Qatar University, Georgetown University Qatar are involved in this conference, al-Ghanem said.