Side events took place concurrently with the 2020 conference. Click on the title of each event below to see videos of the events as well as the organizer, program, contact person, and other resources.
- Download the one-page schedule of side events
- Download the full list of side event programs
Thursday, May 15
Lalibela 3A
Organized by: CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
Contact person(s): John McDermott, IFPRI
Facilitator: Peter Ballantyne, Head of KM, ILRI
Presenters:
Delia Grace, Program Leader, ILRI, and A4NH
John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, IFPRI
Discussants:
Jean Michel Poirson, FAO
Erastus Kang’ethe, Professor, University of Nairobi
Mweshi Mukanga, Ministry of Agriculture, Zambia
Abigael Obura, Program Coordinator, CDC-Kenya
Hung Nguyen, Hanoi School of Public Health
Communications: Susan MacMillan, Head of Public Awareness, ILRI
Read reflections from this side event on the A4NH website.
Abstract:
Food-borne diseases (FBD) are a growing health problem in developing countries. Reducing exposure to FBD will reduce health shocks at individual and household levels as well as enable broader economic and social development through strengthening of agricultural value chains, especially for high value, highly nutritious foods and staples contaminated with aflatoxins. Promising technological and institutional solutions exist and can be tested, adapted, and scaled up, while at the same time managing potential risks (especially to the poor) that come with increased awareness of FBD and greater ability to detect and differentiate safe from unsafe food. This event will assess past experience in food safety research, identify and prioritize promising areas for investment, and engage partners from different regions and sector. This event will be part of an external evaluation of food safety research in A4NH.
Lalibela 3B
Organized by: Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP) – Ethiopian Economics Association
Contact person(s): Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, IFPRI
Chair:
Getnet Alemu, Ethiopian Economics Association
Speakers:
Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, Senior Research Fellow, Development Strategy and Governance Division, IFPRI
Berhanu Woldemichael, Director, Food Security, Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia
John Hoddinott, Deputy Director, Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, IFPRI
Matthew Hobson, Senior Social Protection Specialist, World Bank
Yenus Hassen Mohammed, Coordinator, Household Asset Building Program, Ethiopia
Abstract:
The Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) has been implemented since 2005 in Ethiopia. The PSNP is the biggest safety net program in sub-Saharan Africa, outside South-Africa, and it is considered as a success story for improving the food security of the most vulnerable in the country. The purpose of the side event is to bring together different stakeholders and discuss the lessons learnt, challenges for the implementation of similar safety nets in other countries in Africa, and possible ways forward.
Lalibela 3C
Organized by: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries And Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS)
Contact person(s): Isolina Boto, CTA
Chair:
Michael Hailu, Director, CTA
Panelists:
Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS
Michael Hailu, Director, CTA
Edwin Laurent, Senior Advisor, The Caribbean Green Economy Initiative
Mereia Volavola, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Island Private Sector Organization (PIPSO)
Adimaimalaga Fanny Tafunai, Women in Business in Development, Samoa
Jethro Greene, Chief Coordinator, Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN)
Carmen Nurse, President, Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (CANROP)
Gibson Susumu, Food Security Expert, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Sant Kumar, President, Fiji Organic Producers Association, Foundation Member, Pacific Organic Producers Association (FOPA)
Abstract:
Small islands are remote from large markets and vulnerable to economic and natural shocks. With too little investment and difficulties in attracting youth, their agricultural sectors are stagnant, while diets are shifting away from local and healthy foods resulting in an increasing prevalence of diabetes and cardio-vascular problems. Bringing together experts from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, this workshop will formulate proposals to the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (Samoa, September 2014) on two common food and nutrition problems of island developing states: how can indigenous knowledge and a revival of traditional foods help address the widespread problem of nutrition-related diseases; and what are the best practices in linking agriculture, health and tourism to create employment, reduce food imports and add value to local and regional trade. Special attention will be given to smart public-private partnerships.
Awash
Organized by: Resilience Learning Consortium (comprised of CARE, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Mercy Corps, World Vision, and Cornell University)
Contact person(s): Jon Kurtz, Mercy Corps
Panelists:
Jon Kurtz, Director of Research and Learning, Mercy Corps
Deborah Ingersoll, Senior Director, Food Security and Livelihoods, World Vision US
Shaun Ferris, Director, Agriculture and Livelihoods, Catholic Relief Services
Christel Bultman, Deputy Regional Director, Program Quality for West Africa, CARE
Mark Constas, Associate Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
Moderator: Tonya Rawe, Senior Research Lead, Food and Nutrition Security Unit, CARE USA
Resilience Learning Consortium flyer
Abstract:
The Resilience Learning Consortium is working to develop and apply common metrics and measurement approaches for resilience. Our coordinated efforts are aimed at providing the development community with a deeper understanding of, and credible evidence on, the key components of resilience. During this session, representatives from the Resilience Learning Consortium will share highlights of our collective and individual efforts to advance this learning agenda. Practitioners, donors, and other participants will come away with a greater understanding of how programs are -- or should be -- designed, evaluated, and coordinated to build the resilience of vulnerable populations to recurrent shocks.
Lalibela 3A
Organized by: World Bank/South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative
Contact person(s): Melissa Williams, World Bank
Panelists:
Shamim Imam, Director of Capacity Building, Manusher Jonno Foundation, Bangladesh
Presentation
Visakha Tilekeratne, Nutrition Expert, Viluthu Centre for Human Resource Development, Sri Lanka
Uma Swaminathan, Coordinator, RUDI Multi Trading Company Limited, Self-employed Women's Association (SEWA), India
Presentation
Chime Wangdi, Secretary General, Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan
Abstract:
Food and nutrition security remains elusive in South Asia, despite strong economic growth. The SAFANSI program was created to identify the causes of and solutions to persistent hunger and malnutrition, and it has linked with the BEES regional learning network of civil society organizations and World Bank projects to enhance knowledge about the critical factors that promote food and nutrition security and scale up good practices. This session will describe what BEES members are learning about root causes of persistent hunger in marginalized populations and how they leverage and scale up innovations through cross-border learning and collaboration.
Lalibela 3B
Organized by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with Mekelle University
Contact person(s): Stephan Krall, GIZ
Welcome: Stefan Schmitz, Head of Division, Rural Development and Food Security, BMZ
Presenters:
Eyasu Yazew Hagos, Associate Professor in Land and Water Development, Mekelle University
Petra Jacobi, Project Manager, GIZ
Presentation
Stephan Krall, Head of Section, GIZ
Presentation
Moderator: Christel Weller-Molongua, Head of Division, GIZ
Abstract:
Improving resilience of households against climate change asks for more stable agricultural production under increasingly unreliable weather conditions. This requires more efficient management of rainfall in rainfed agriculture and intensified use of runoff and groundwater water for irrigated agriculture in order to become more independent of rainfall irregularities. In order to achieve both, intensive training is needed to increase capacities of technicians, extension workers and farmers. The seminar will present and discuss a capacity building initiative with south-south knowledge exchange with the Mekelle University in Ethiopia, experiences from climate-smart landscape approaches in the Sahel. It will also launch the new Manual of good practices in small scale irrigation with experiences of multiple development agencies in Mali.
Lalibela 3C
Organized by: World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Contact person(s): Michael Morris and Raffaello Cervigni, World Bank, Mohamed Manssouri, FAO
Presenters:
Raffaello Cervigni, Lead Environmental Economist, World Bank, USA
Mohamed Manssouri, Senior Advisor, FAO, Italy
Stephen Danyo, Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank, USA
Discussants:
Djimé Adoum, Executive Secretary, Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), Burkina Faso
Tesfaye Beshah, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Djibouti
Estherine Fotabong, Director of Programme Implementation and Coordination, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), South Africa (tbc)
Facilitator: Karen Brooks, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets, IFPRI, USA
Abstract:
The World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have teamed up with a number of partners to prepare a report, slated for completion at the end of 2014, about strategies to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of populations living in dryland regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The side event will feature two brief presentations: (1) a presentation of preliminary findings emerging from ongoing background studies that are providing insights into the extent and nature of the shocks experienced by people living in drylands; and (2) a presentation on the rationale/justification for promoting integrated land management in degraded drylands as one possible solution to enhance resilience in African drylands, as promoted by the NEPAD-led partnership Terrafrica. The presentation will also lay out foundations of a new flagship program developed under the revised Environment Action Plan that will support countries interested in sustainable land and watershed management (SLWM) interventions using integrated land management (ILM) approaches. The presentations will be followed by an expert panel discussion featuring heads of major regional organizations and leaders of the drylands development agenda, CILSS and NEPAD. The session will conclude with a Q&A period during which participants will have the opportunity to react to the emerging findings and discuss their significance for policy making and program design.
Awash
Organized by: DuPont Pioneer
Contact person(s): Lystra Antoine, DuPont Pioneer
Moderator: Pamela Chitenhe, Regional Director - Africa, DuPont Pioneer
Presenters:
Pratibha Thaker, Regional Director, The Economist Intelligence Unit
Khalid Bomba, CEO, Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency
Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture, Nestlé
Presentation
Harald Langer, Senior Analyst for Custom Research, The Economist Intelligence Unit
Closing Remarks: Lystra N. Antoine, Global Director, Sustainable Agriculture Development, DuPont Pioneer
DuPont commitment to help end hunger
Abstract:
This event will explore themes from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Food Security Index (GFSI) and how they converge with actions taken by the private and public sectors to address food security and resilience. The GFSI, sponsored by DuPont, is an annual benchmarking study entering its third year. The study’s 27 indicators measure food security across three dimensions: affordability, availability, and quality and safety across 107 countries. The session will include a presentation, panel discussion and interactive tutorial of the index. We will consider specific factors including agricultural infrastructure, political stability, corruption, agricultural volatility and food safety nets.
Lalibela 3A
Organized by: CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
Contact person(s): John McDermott, IFPRI
Facilitator: Jeff Waage, University of London
Presenters:
John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, IFPRI
Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International
Francois Gasengayire, Senior Program Officer, IDRC
Discussants:
Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Professor Emeritus, Cornell University
Polly Ericksen, Program Leader, ILRI
Alex Awiti, Professor, Aga Khan University, Nairobi
Communications: Roseline Remans, Associate Research Scientist, Earth Institute, Columbia University
Read reflections from this side event on the A4NH website.
Abstract:
Targeted toward an audience interested in agriculture and rural systems and community development, this side event aims to generate discussion and subsequent actions on how health and nutrition can be better integrated into the existing socio-economic / ecological systems agenda and contribute to building resilience. The event will feature a facilitated three-person panel addressing EcoHealth approaches (i.e. the relationship between changes in ecosystems and human health), nutrition-sensitive landscapes, and a snapshot of current work in socioecological systems.
Lalibela 3B
Organized by: Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP) – Ethiopian Economics Association
Contact person(s): Guush Berhane, IFPRI
Presentation
Chair: Guush Berhane, Research Fellow, Development Strategy and Governance Division, IFPRI
Speakers:
Degnet Abebaw, Senior Researcher, Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute (EEPRI)
Presentation
Ruth Vargas Hill, Senior Economist, Africa Region, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, World Bank
Birhanu Tadesse Ayana, Research Officer, ILRI
Teshome Y. Dayesso, Founder-CEO, Buusaa Gonofaa Microfinance, Ethiopia
Abstract:
Households in developing countries are challenged by routinely occurring natural disasters, particularly weather shocks that affect agricultural production and livelihoods. Mitigating such risks by introducing strategies that blend insurance with credit and promote resilience, has pre-occupied many governmental organizations, researchers and donors. Weather-based agricultural insurance products have been introduced to rural farmers, although problems lingered around cost and product design. Addressing some of the critical challenges were the focus for recent pilot studies in Ethiopia. This side event brings together policy makers, researchers, practitioners, donors and other stakeholders to investigate issues and lessons learned from recent experimentations in weather insurance.
Lalibela 3C
Organized by: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Contact person(s): Alisher Mirzabaev, ZEF
Chair: Joachim von Braun, Director, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn
Panelists:
Ephraim Nkonya, Senior Research Fellow, Environment and Production Technology Division, IFPRI
Detlef Virchow, Senior Researcher, ZEF
Bokar Moussa, Agricultural Economist, National Institute of Agricultural Research of Niger (INRAN)
Samuel Gebreselassie, Research Fellow, Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute and Future Agricultures Consortium
Alisher Mirzabaev, Senior Researcher, ZEF
Abstract:
Resilience is required not only for prevention of falling into poverty in the face of shocks and other stressors, but also for overcoming the impacts of slow processes that increase risks, such as land degradation. Land degradation can prevent households from accumulating capital and building up resilience, including through its effects on human nutrition. Currently, the estimates indicate that about 1.5 billion people, especially the poorest and marginalized, are strongly affected by land degradation. The purpose of the side event is to provide with an evidence-based action framework for policies and investments to address land degradation and enhance resilience. The side-event will present latest research results from global and national case studies on Economics of Land Degradation. The presentations will be preceded by a short video clip.
Awash
Organized by: Mercy Corps
Contact person(s): Ann Vaughan, Mercy Corps
Moderator: Tim Frankenberger, President, TANGO International
Panelists:
Greg Collins, Deputy Director, Resilience Secretariat, USAID
Tim Waites, Senior Livelihoods and Disaster Resilience Adviser, DFID
Sundaa Bridget-Jones, Associate Director, International Development, The Rockefeller Foundation
Calum McLean, Global Food Security Thematic Coordinator, DG ECHO, European Commission
Abstract:
Donors are developing a variety of mechanisms for funding resilience programs, which are inherently complex and require new and innovative instruments to create sustainable system change. This event will offer donors the opportunity to highlight how they support successful resilience programming and share key challenges they face, specifically around which funding instruments, organizational structures, and incentives are proving most effective in integrating and institutionalizing resilience into their agency for the long-term. The proposed outcome of the event will be to share best practices around institutionalizing resilience programming and promote the use of the most effective practices.
Lalibela 3A
Organized by: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent)
Contact person(s): Sylvie Wabbes Candotti and Carlotta Ridolfi, FAO
Facilitator: Charlotte Dufour, Nutrition Officer, FAO
Speakers:
Jill Clements, Country Representative, Ethiopia, IFRC
Johan Heffinck, Country Director, ECHO Ethiopia
Sheri Arnott, Senior Policy Advisor, Food Assistance/Food Security, World Vision International
Harold Alderman, Senior Research Fellow, Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, IFPRI
Closing remarks: Harold Alderman, IFPRI
Lalibela 3B
Organized by: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Contact person(s): Polly Ericksen, ILRI
Speakers:
Katharine Downie, Coordinator for the Technical Consortium for Building Resilience in the Horn of Africa, ILRI
Lance Robinson, Governance and Resilience Scientist, ILRI
Eike Luedeling, Senior Decision Analyst, World Agroforestry Centre
Polly Ericksen, Programme Leader, ILRI
Bernard Bett, Senior Scientist, ILRI
Mohamed Said, Scientist, ILRI
Abstract: "Measuring Development Process Resilience: A Test from Northern Kenya"
Abstract: "Assessing Resilience in the Horn of Africa - an Applied Information Economics Approach"
Abstract: "Impacts of Rift Valley Fever outbreaks on livestock production in the dryland systems"
Abstract:
The concept of resilience captured the attention of donors, researchers and NGOs after the 2011 drought in East Africa. IGAD member state countries all now have plans in place to enhance resilience to drought, and many NGOs and donors have followed suite. However defining resilience in a way that allows for measurement of the impact of interventions remains a challenge. Similarly, there is much we do not yet understand about the dynamics of resilience in drylands systems, particularly approaches that combine the social and ecological components. This session will present original research on measuring resilience (three papers) and the dynamics of resilience using disease transmission (Rift Valley Fever) and carbon stocks in rangelands as two examples.
Lalibela 3C
Organized by: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Contact person(s): Olivier Ecker, IFPRI
Chair: Abdelkarim Sma, Regional Economist, Near East, North Africa and Europe Division, IFAD
Panelists:
Olivier Ecker, Research Fellow, Development Strategy and Governance Division, IFPRI
Lamis Al-Iryani, Head, Monitoring and Evaluation, SFD, Yemen
Kwaw Andam, Agriculture Economist, Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank
Abdul Wahed Mukred, Head, Food Security Secretariat, Yemen
Salah Hajj Hassan, Country Representative, FAO, Yemen
Abstract:
Food insecurity is a consequence and a driver of civil conflict—in Arab countries more than in the rest of the world. Hence, policies and programs that promote social and economic development and enhance resilience to food insecurity may have high potential to also reduce the risk of conflict. This is likely to be particularly true for developing countries in political transition such as Yemen.
This event brings together policy makers, development partners, and researchers to share empirical evidence and first-hand experiences. Questions to be addressed will include: (a) how to break the vicious cycle of civil conflict and food insecurity; (b) what kind of policies and programs are needed and feasible to build resilience in transition countries; and (c) which specific policy and program components have been found to be most promising in the context of Yemen. The event starts off with panel presentations, followed by a Q&A session and a guided discussion with the audience.
Simien
Organized by: The Rockefeller Foundation and U.S. Agencey for International Development (USAID)
Contact person(s): Sundaa Bridgett-Jones, The Rockefeller Foundation
Presenters:
Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), USAID
Ashvin Dayal, Associate Vice President and Managing Director, Asia, The Rockefeller Foundation
Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director, Africa, The Rockefeller Foundation
Discussants:
Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture, Nestlé
Connell Foley, Director, Strategy, Advocacy and Learning, Concern Worldwide
Shaun Ferris, Director, Agricultural Livelihoods, Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Abstract:
The Rockefeller Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will present the Global Partnership for Resilience, a new initiative designed to collectively identify problems, to surface innovative approaches and to support the scaling-up of existing efforts to build resilience in the Sahel, Horn of Africa and Asia. The Partnership will identify the most catalytic opportunities for intervention to transform how individuals face sudden shocks and chronic stresses while strengthening the systemic capacity to provide assistance to reinforce long-term development. The partnership will work with a diverse range of traditional and non-traditional actors, including regional organizations, bilateral development agencies, governments, NGOs and the private sector.
