Press Release

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is hosting a breakout session on Wednesday October 19, 2022, between 10 pm and 11 pm IST at the World Food Prize Foundation 2022 International Borlaug Dialogue. As you aware, Prof M S Swaminathan is the first recipient of the World Food Prize.

About the MSSRF session:

Being home to one-sixth of humanity, feeding India sustainably remains key to achieving SDG 2. Agricultural productivity in India is rising but remains below global averages for several crops with further challenges from climate change. As highlighted by IPCC, projected levels of risk across scenarios in the near-term depend more on trends in vulnerability, exposure, socioeconomic development, and adaptation than on differences in climate hazards. Without adaptation, climate change will increase risks to food security.

The MSSRF session will examine adaptation in agriculture and food systems from the perspective of equity and just transition for the Global South, specifically the perspective of low-input, low output small holder farmers. We discuss the need for balancing adaptation and mitigation in reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience. We discuss the need for supportive public policies and access to scientific knowledge and technology in bridging yield gaps and improving farmer incomes and overall socioeconomic development.

The session is moderated by Dr Madhura Swaminathan, Chairperson – M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, India, and panellists are:

Dr. T. Jayaraman, Senior Fellow, Climate Change Programme, MSSRF, India; Dr. Sreeja Jaiswal, Humboldt International Climate Protection Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Heidelberg, Germany; Prof. K. C. Bansal, Secretary, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India, and Member, Board of Directors, Global Plant Council; and Prof. Channapatna Prakash, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences and Professor, Crop Genomics and Biotechnology, Tuskegee University, USA.

Please register here for the session: bit.ly/3aWPg3z

About World Food Prize Foundation Conference

The theme this year is Feeding a Fragile World and focuses on overcoming pervasive shocks to the global food system. The triple threat of COVID, Conflict, and Climate demands addressing the multiple challenges the global food system faces now and in the future. The event will address scalable solutions for adaptation and mitigation to limit planetary warming below 1.5° C and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Mainstage events will be held from October 18 to 20, while hybrid side events are from October 12 to 21, 2022.