Georgetown SFS-Q to Host Panel on Food Security in Dry Lands

The Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) will be taking part in a panel discussion addressing the vital topic of food security, at The International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands (FSDL) conference held in Doha, from 14-15 November 2012 at Qatar University.

The CIRS panel entitled ‘The Causes and Consequences of Food Insecurity in the Middle East’ will take place at 11.30am during the opening day of FSDL, a mega conference set to address various challenges in the context of Food Security; Water Resources, Demand and Management; and Responsible Investment.

Ms. Zahra Babar, Assistant Director, CIRS, SFS-Q will be acting as moderator, introducing each of the speakers and handling the Q & A which is to follow their presentations. Ms. Babar commented, “Experts from more than 60 countries are expected to attend this leading conference on food security, and CIRS is delighted to contribute to this. Our panel presenters were all part of the CIRS research initiative on Food Security and Food Sovereignty in the Middle East which we completed earlier this year, and have each contributed a chapter to the upcoming CIRS edited volume entitled ‘Food Security and Food Sovereignty in the Middle East’.

This panel discussion will draw on the highly original contributions of these thought leaders in their field, and promises to be highly engaging and informative around the hugely important and relevant issue of food security; which is in line with Qatar’s overarching aim to reduce its reliance on food imports through the realization of the principle of self-sufficiency.

The panelist include Raymond Bush, Leeds University, whose presentation, “Food Security in Egypt”, explores the continuities in Egypt’s agricultural strategy since the onset of economic liberalisation in the mid-80s; Jad Chaaban, AUB, “Lebanon’s Food Security Challenges”, looking at the small resources of Lebanon and its high reliance on imports to meet its food and beverage consumption needs; Jane Harrigan, SOAS, “Economic Advantages of Domestic Agriculture in the Middle East”, a presentation which argues that the recent global food price crisis has had a severe economic impact on Arab nations at both the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels; and Martha Mundy, LSE, will host a presentation which investigates the suffering of Yemenis in “Food security in Yemen”.

CIRS is proud to take part in FSDL which is being held 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.