17 May 2013
CIFOR, ICRAF, Bioversity say Landscape-Level Approaches to Forestry and Food Security Crucial
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The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and Bioversity International have held a side event on landscape-level approaches to food security at the first 'International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition.'

cifor-fao-icraf-bioversity14 May 2013: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Bioversity International have held a side event on landscape-level approaches to food security at the first ‘International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition.’

During this side event on ‘Nutrition Sensitive Landscapes,’ researchers from McGill University and the three organizing institutions shared their work and experiences with holistic approaches to food security that balance conservation, agricultural productivity, nutrition sensitivity, and nutritional resilience of food and agricultural systems.

One of the speakers, Terence Sunderland, Principal Scientist with CIFOR’s Forests and Livelihoods Programme, said that landscape-level approaches should “collect economic data at various levels, engaging multiple stakeholders, using spatial data, and focusing on ecosystem and agricultural productivity.” Other speakers highlighted the need to take into account the cultural dimensions of food systems through participatory research techniques, and the need to understand nutritional outcomes within particular dietary contexts.

The conference was held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in Rome, from 13-15 May 2013. CIFOR, ICRAF and Bioversity are all members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [CIFOR Press Release] [International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition Website]

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