$1 million funding for food security research

A Vietnamese farmer watering a field. Assessing farmers' responses to climate change in Vietnam and China is one of three major new food security projects being undertaken in the School of Economics.
Photo by Eva Schuster.
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Flyer and program for Reframing the Agenda: Food Security to 2050, which is being held on Monday 13 February.

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

One million dollars worth of new global research projects on food security is being led by the University of Adelaide's School of Economics - tackling issues such as climate change, policy-making and global food markets.

Participants in this research from around the world will meet in Adelaide next Monday (13 February) at a national forum on food security, called Reframing the Agenda: Food Security to 2050.

To be held at the National Wine Centre, the all-day event draws together experts and decision-makers in agriculture, health, economics and trade.

The School of Economics has won funding for three major new projects on food security. They are:

Assessing farmer responses to climate change in Vietnam and China - a 12-month, $200,000 project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and led by Professor Christopher Findlay (economist and Executive Dean of the University's Faculty of the Professions).

Meeting food security goals with good policy - a 12-month, $200,000 project funded by AusAID, also led by Professor Christopher Findlay.

Climate change, trade policies and food security: implications for Australia - a three-year, $600,000 project funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and led by Professor Kym Anderson (School of Economics).

"Australia and its neighbours face an increasing need to respond to global food security, especially in light of such issues as growing populations, limited natural resources and climate change," says Professor Findlay.

"These three research projects help to demonstrate that we have a key role to play both domestically and internationally in better understanding food security issues and helping to frame the responses to them.

"How can we help farmers to overcome the challenges posed by climate change by understanding the opportunities available to them? What policies do we need to ensure the right goals are being set and met for food production in the region? What will be the drivers of the global food market over the next two to four decades? These questions and more will be addressed by our research.

"Australia stands to gain greatly from this work, and so do our collaborative partners in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia," Professor Findlay says.

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