Can Public-Private Partnerships Feed the Poor?
Agriculture needs to be more productive if it is to feed a much larger world population. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), farmers need to double food production by 2050. But with crop yields declining the past years because of climate change among other things, how will we do it? Speakers at the Crawford Fund’s World Food Security conference said that global food security will only be achieved through public- private partnerships. The Conference, held in Canberra Australia last week, sought to explore ways in which the private sector can engage in international agricultural research, development and extension to the benefit of the rural poor. It also tackled the longstanding problem of the persistent failure of the private sector to develop and introduce agricultural products, technologies and services so badly needed in the poorest developing countries. Representatives from multinational companies and agricultural experts attended the conference. “The most
