The Center of Excellence for Global Food Security and Defense held its first annual summit September 12-14 in Atlanta, guided by the theme, “Prioritizing and Refining the Agenda for Addressing Global Food Security within the 1890 Universities System.” Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the center brought participants from across the 1890 land-grant universities, of which there are 19, together with selected food and nutrition security scholars, and stakeholders from key partner agencies.
The primary goal of the Global Food Security Summit was to engage participants in a dialogue with the purpose of developing a strong and cohesive implementation plan. Summit participants discussed strategic issues in the context of global food security, education and workforce development, agricultural development, new and emerging animal and plant pests, and agricultural disaster recovery. Additional topics were global public and private partnerships and engagement.
Some of the feedback received from participants were:
“I thought the discussions throughout the week were excellent. We look forward to our continued partnership in addressing critical priorities that are affecting vulnerable populations abroad.”
“Congratulations on a wonderful event that was not only interesting, but inspiring and insightful.”
“Everything was well organized and it was great seeing the level of interest and engagement of the participants.”
“It was evident that every aspect of the program was given careful attention. I sincerely appreciate all of the hard work that UMES has put into the Center of Excellence initiative and the efforts to move forward our 19 universities in the process. I look forward to our continued work in this area.”
Opening remarks were given by UMES President Dr. Heidi Anderson (via Zoom), followed by Dr. Paul Jones, Fort Valley State University, president and chair of 1890 Universities Council; Dr. Venu Kalavacharla, deputy director for the Institute of Youth, Family and Communities, USDA NIFA; and Dr. Moses Kairo, dean and CEGFSD director. Dr. Mortimer Neufville, president and CEO of the 1890 Universities Foundation served as the facilitator.
The summit featured high-level keynote speakers, including Dr. Francisco Mello, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and a member of the CEGFSD Advisory Council; Neneh Diallo, USAID chief diversity officer; Daniel Whitley, USDA Foreign Agriculture Service administrator; and Beattra Wilson, U.S. Forest Service and Advisory Council member.
Other highlights of the event included a showcase of international projects funded through the center, plenary sessions discussing challenges, and brainstorming on engaging partners such as the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, USAID Minority Serving Institutions, USDA NIFA programs and Land-O-Lakes.
Consideration was given to identifying the pillars of a dynamic action plan for the CEGFSD through breakout sessions led by Dr. Julie Shortridge, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech and Advisory Council member; Dr. Antonio McLaren, vice president for program innovation and implementation, 1890 Universities Foundation; and Dr. Moses Kairo, dean and CEGFSD director.
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions. CEIED Award # 2020-38427-31514 and, CEGFSD Award: 2021-38427-34838.
