Agriculture for Peace (Ag4Peace) is a platform for collaborative action to advance nutrition and food security in LMICs by accelerating development of inclusive, sustainable, climate-smart agri-food systems and the circular bioeconomy. The Ag4Peace founding partners are the Norman Borlaug Foundation, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Texas A&M University.

Our purpose is to support national food and agriculture strategies by increasing investments in research-based solutions and participatory models that catalyze transformation to more productive, sustainable, and resilient agrifood systems; improve livelihoods for small-scale producers and throughout the agrifood value chain; and deliver healthy, affordable diets. This multi-dimensional work will be accomplished through broad-based collaborations and long-term investments.

This event, launching at the 2022 Borlaug Dialogue, will introduce the Ag4Peace collaborative platform and provide opportunities to receive feedback and input from a diverse panel of experts.

Guideposts for action

• Design holistic strategies that encompass the multidimensions of agrifood systems and their interconnections with nature, nutrition, & livelihoods.
• Support national efforts to upgrade agrifood systems, adopt regenerative agriculture and climate-smart strategies, expand the circular bioeconomy, and attain nutrition and food security goals.
• Prioritize participation of small-scale farmers, women, and socially diverse groups in all aspects – science, planning, implementation, and evaluation – to maximize positive outcomes and avoid negative externalities.
• Demonstrate benefits for farmers, communities, value chain participants, consumers, and ecosystems.

We welcome additional global and regional private sector, institutional, and NGO partners who share our aspirations, and country-based and regional operational partners.

Event plan

4:15 p.m. Presentation of the Ag4Peace Concept: Dr. Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT and A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. Recipient of 2014 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application.

4:25 p.m. Panel Discussion, moderated by Margaret Bath, Chair, CIMMYT Board of Trustees. The panelists are:

• Manuel Otero, Director General, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Previously, he served in Washington D.C. as an Agricultural Attaché, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture of Argentina and was also Vice-President of Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology.
• Sharon E. Burke, Global Fellow, Environmental Change and Security Program, Wilson Center; Founder and President, Ecospherics; and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy and leader at several civic organizations, including Center for a New American Security and Amnesty International USA.
• Per Pinstrup-Anderson, World Food Prize Laureate. H. E. Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy, the J. Thomas Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Professor of Applied Economics at Cornell University and Professor of Agricultural Economics at Copenhagen University. Former Chairman of the Science Council of the CGIAR and Director General of IFPRI.
• Alice Ruhweza, Africa Regional Director, World Wildlife Fund (by video). Previously, she served in several capacities at Conservation International, including Vice President of Programs and Partnerships and Vice President of Programs and Partnerships Interim Vice President of Sustainable Production. Prior to joining CI, Alice was Team Leader of the Global Environment Finance Unit in Africa, UNDP.

4:55 p.m. Concluding Remarks: Julie Borlaug, President, Norman Borlaug Foundation.

5:00 p.m. End of event.

Please register your attendance to the Agriculture for Peace launch in-person or watch the session online.