The 3rd International Conference on Global Food Security was organized in Cape Town, South Africa, in December 2017. Two doctoral candidates from the Water and Development Research Group (WDRG), Matias Heino and Elina Lehikoinen, travelled there to present their recent research.

The conference took place in the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and it had more than 600 participants around the world.

The theme of the conference was ‘Global Challenges, Local Solutions and Connected Pathways’. This refers to the burden that global food production imposes on our planet, which can only be addressed through local actions. The conference included talks from a wide range of food security related topics such as plant breeding, bio-security, and food policy. This highlights the multiplicity of scientific disciplines that are concerned about food security as well as the complexity of the issue.

WDRG’s doctoral candidate Matias Heino presenting his recent work on the impacts of climate oscillations on global crop production.

Several speakers mentioned, that focusing only on food production quantity in addressing food security is inadequate, because 1) food insecurity is often an issue of access (there might be enough food in the market, but it is not affordable) and, 2) although, people might consume enough calories, the nutritional content of their food can still be insufficient. One speaker even suggested that in some countries, the best measure to improve food security would be to increase employment.

Grounding on the complexity of food security, many conference speakers called for action in including scientific research into policy-making. The speakers especially highlighted, that humanity cannot remain on its current unsustainable path. These thoughts build an evident bridge to the ‘From Failand to Winland’ consortium, led by WDRG’s Marko Keskinen and Olli Varis, which aims to reduce the gap between scientific research and political decision-making, by holistic co-creation approaches.

WDRG’s and Winland’s doctoral candidate Elina Lehikoinen presented a poster about the Finnish food security.

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Terveiset Globaali ruokaturva –konferenssista!

Vesi ja kehitys -tutkimusryhmän tohtorikoulutettavat, Matias Heino ja Elina Lehikoinen, osallistuivat Globaali ruokaturva -konferenssiin joulukuun alussa. Konferenssi pidettiin Kapkaupungissa, ja se keräsi yli 600 tutkijaa ympäri maailmaa.

Konferenssin teemana oli globaalin ruokajärjestelmän kytkökset paikallisiin ratkaisuihin. Useissa esityksissä korostettiin, että ruoan riittävä tuottaminen ei takaa sitä, että ruokaturva toteutuu, sillä ruoka ei välttämättä jakaudu tasaisesti kaikille. Lisäksi monet puhujat peräänkuuluttivat, että poliittisen päätöksenteon ja tutkimuksen välille täytyy löytyä yhteys, jotta ruokaturvan haasteisiin voidaan vastata kokonaisvaltaisesti.

Matias Heino esitelmöi konferenssissa ilmasto-oskillaatioiden vaikutuksista globaaliin viljantuotantoon ja Elina Lehikoinen puolestaan esitteli Suomen ruokaturvan kytköksiä globaaliin ruokajärjestelmään.