Select Speaking Engagements
2022

Latin America and the Caribbean at a Crossroads: What Agenda and Role for the Inter-American Development Bank?
(Center for Global Development Event)
Covid-19 exacerbated poverty, hunger and inequality in Central and South America, where more than half of the economy is informal. In these uncertain, volatile times, with high climate risks, it’s important to remember that the region needs more than one solution. The Inter-American Development Bank needs a clear strategy and alliances to rebuild productivity and resilience in the region.

Food and Energy: Tackling a Global Resource Crisis
(World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Meeting; Podcast Food and Climate Change)
The war in Ukraine has shone light on the link between energy and food. While shifting energy mix to tackle climate change is necessary, it’s easy to forget that doing so will raise the price of natural gas, which will in turn raise the price of fertilizers — and this is threatening the next harvest and next year’s food availability.

Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
(United Nations Security Council, 9133rd meeting)
The connection between armed conflicts, food insecurity and famine is enduring. Conflict has immediate, lasting impacts on every dimension of agri-food systems, from destroying crops and disrupting markets to loss of livelihoods and mass displacements in the long term. Preventing conflict is the most effective means of preventing famine.

The Next Shock: Food Insecurity Amidst Pandemic and War
(Center for Global Development Talk)
Grain shipments from Ukraine are helping to boost maize and wheat availability. But they need to be complemented with measures addressing the food access problem. For example, vulnerable countries need help to cope with record high food import bills. FAO’s proposal, “Food Import Financing Facility,” targets the structural problem of access to food and tries to minimize potential risks that could lead to social unrest.

On the Looming Food Crisis
(IMF Podcast Interview PDF Download)
Countries that depend on food imports are also struggling with debt, conflict, economic downturns and the effects of climate change. They need financing from global financing institutions like IMF to cope with the soaring cost of importing foods.

Repurposing Food and Agricultural Policies to Make Healthy Diets More Affordable
(SOFI 2022 Launch at the United Nations; Press Conference; Key Findings)
World hunger rose further in 2021, reflecting worsening inequalities. Current policies are failing to address hunger and malnutrition. By reforming agriculture subsidies, nations can free up resources to give poor people who survive on starchy staples access to healthy foods.

Transition from Relief to Development
(Economic and Social Council, 23rd plenary meeting)
The number of people in crisis went up by 80% to 193 million in the past five years due to conflict, climate change, Covid-19 and economic downturns. About 3.2 billion people live in agricultural areas with serious water shortages. Countries must pursue short- and long-term solutions to build their resilience against these shocks and lower the cost of healthy foods.

What Rising Food Prices Mean for Global Food Insecurity
(Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg)
The war in Ukraine has caused food and fertilizer prices to surge, jeopardizing people’s access to food. Nations must keep global food trade flowing to support food access during the crisis, and diversify their import sources and domestic production to build resilience against future shocks.

Financing for Agri-Food Systems Transformation
(ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Side Event)
The success of 2030 Agenda depends on whether we can improve the lives of people in rural areas, where 80% of the world’s poor live. Currently, 3 out of 4 small- and mid-sized agriculture business in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to finance; 1.7 billion adults are “unbanked,” and more than half of them are women. Inclusive green finance and agriculture subsidies reform can spur multi-sector action for social protection, nutrition-sensitive and climate-smart agricultural agendas to tackle rural poverty.

Building Long-Term Resilience in Food Systems
(Global Donor Platform for Rural Development)
Building long-term resilience in food systems is key to buffer against future economic shocks and humanitarian crises.

Conflict and Hunger
(United Nations Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting)
Conflict is a leading cause of hunger and malnutrition. It destroys crops, livestock, supply chains and markets, and causes population displacements, with long-term effects on human development. The Russia-Ukraine war is affecting global food security, with historically high food prices. Multi-sector interventions can prevent the war from exacerbating global hunger. To build resilience against future conflicts, it’s imperative to boost agricultural productivity and production sustainably.

The Role of Youth in Tackling Poverty and Hunger
(60th Session of the Commission for Social Development Side Event)
Globally, young people account for 24 percent of the working poor. In 2019, 20 percent of young people were unemployed and lacked access to education. Our youths are suffering the consequences of poor policy choices adults have made. But with technology and innovation, they also have the opportunity to reduce poverty, generate employment and boost food security and nutrition.

Making Agri-Food Systems More Resilient to Shocks and Stresses
(IFPRI-FAO Policy Seminar)
Agri-food systems extend beyond the production of food, accounting for a wide share of the economy. The agriculture sector has remained remarkably resilient throughout the pandemic, which shows that it has capacity to absorb shocks and also to rebound from the pandemic. To build resilient agri-food systems, it is critical to prepare for disruption, take a systems-wide approach, involving many actors and sectors, and develop policies to increase resilience.