Scientific Symposium: Protected Production of Fruits and Vegetables for Nutrition Security in Urban and Peri-Urban Environments
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July 18, 2018
1:00 pm - 5:00 pmWorld Bank Main Building, Room MC 2-800, 1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC, USA
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The Agriculture & Food Systems Institute and Food and Agriculture Global Practice, World Bank was very pleased to co-organize the scientific symposium: Protected Production of Fruits and Vegetables for Nutrition Security in Urban and Peri-Urban Environments. Fruits and vegetables play an essential role in nutritious diets and are key to addressing health and nutritional challenges. Increasing productivity to meet growing demand is challenged by the impacts of climate change and competition for essential natural resources. Ensuring the sustainability of the fruit and vegetable supply cannot be achieved without implementation of climate smart adaptation and mitigation interventions.
Ranging from inexpensive, simple polytunnels to high-cost, high-technology production platforms, protected systems for fruit and vegetable production offer viable alternatives to rainfed, open-field cultivation of these high value, nutritious crops. Protected cultivation, particularly in low and middle income countries, has been proposed as a way to adapt production to climate volatility while also increasing supply. However, protected cultivation techniques are not suitable to all climatic conditions, or all fruit and vegetable crops. Startup costs can be prohibitive, particularly for small-holders, and profitability requires higher quality and yields, access to markets, and/or higher selling prices.
This scientific symposium explored how protected cultivation of fruits and vegetables can be used to provide a reliable, affordable, and sustainably produced supply of nutrient dense foods, with an emphasis on production opportunities in urban and peri-urban settings.
Speakers
Erick Fernandes, Ph.D.
Agriculture Global Practice, The World Bank Group
Morven McLean, Ph.D.
Agriculture & Food Systems Institute
Elizabeth Mitcham, Ph.D.
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, UC, Davis
Eija Pehu, Ph.D.
World Bank (Consultant)
Mark W. Rosegrant, Ph.D.
International Food Policy Research Institute
Richard Rosen, Ph.D.
American Ag Energy
Gordon Prain, Ph.D.
Urban Harvest (retired)
Geeta Sethi, Ph.D.
Agriculture Global Practice, The World Bank Group
Greg Thoma, Ph.D.
University of Arkansas
Juergen Voegele, Ph.D.
Agriculture Global Practice, The World Bank Group
Jacques Wery, Ph.D.
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry AreasAgenda
1:00 pm
Welcome and Introductions
Juergen Voegele, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Agriculture Global Practice, The World Bank Group
Morven McLean, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute
1:15 pm
Protected Cultivation of Fruits and Vegetables: Opportunities and Challenges
Elizabeth Mitcham, Ph.D.
Director, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, University of California, Davis
1:30 pm
Projected Impacts of Climate Change on Fruit and Vegetable Production Globally Through to 2050
Mark W. Rosegrant, Ph.D.
Research Fellow Emeritus, Director General’s Office, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
1:55 pm
Life Cycle Assessment of Fruit and Vegetable Production, Including Protected Systems
Greg Thoma, Ph.D.
Professor, Bates Teaching Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas
2:20 pm
Break
2:45 pm
Controlled Environment Agriculture: The Technological Suite of Opportunities and Constraints
Richard Rosen, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer, American Ag Energy
3:10 pm
Integrated Production Systems for Nutritional Security and More Jobs Per Drop for Smallholder Farmers Under Climate Change in the MENA Region
Jacques Wery, Ph.D.
Deputy Director General for Research, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
3:35 pm
The Importance of Climate-Smart Horticulture in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas of the Global South: Policy Challenges and Interventions
Gordon Prain, Ph.D.
Global Coordinator (retired), Urban Harvest, CGIAR Global Program on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture
4:00 pm
Panel Discussion
Erick Fernandes, Ph.D.
Global Lead – Technology, Innovation, and Climate Smart Agriculture, Agriculture Global Practice, The World Bank Group
4:50 pm
Summary Remarks
Eija Pehu, Ph.D.
Board of Trustees, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute
