Int'l Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands to Start in Doha Wednesday

Doha, November 12 (QNA) - Under the patronage of HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands, will be held in Doha during the period 14-15 November. The conference is organized by Qatar National Food Security Program (QNFSP) in collaboration with several national, regional and international organizations. More than 400 participants including over forty ministers, undersecretaries and heads of international and regional organizations from 50 countries, beside national organizations, will participate in the conference's discussions. QNFSP Chief Executive Officer Fahd bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, who is also the conference's chairman, said in statement today that the conference is a pioneering event that seeks to address one of the most difficult challenges faced by dry land countries in their search for food security. He added that the event also comes as a prelude to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2012 (COP18), due to open in Doha on November 26. Al-Attiyah explained that thinking Qatar is a desert peninsula, and a dry coastal state that relies by 100 percent on the desalination of sea water, and 95 percent on food imports, makes it quite clear that we have to take, seriously, our responsibility in innovativeness, cooperation and collaboration to find solutions to the issues of food security and water, as well as climate issues. He stressed that cooperation in these matters has nothing to do with ideological or political issues, expressing his willingness to join all who share the same vision, to take practical and decisive action. The Statement said HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is Expected to inaugurate the conference which will focus on three thematic areas, food security, water resources, demand and management, besides other issues related to responsible agricultural investment. In addition to 12 technical sessions addressing various challenges in the context of Food Security; Water Resources, Demand and Management; and Responsible Investment, the conference will include a Ministerial Dialogue on Dry Lands Agriculture under a Changing Climate. The Ministerial Dialogue will focus on two themes: Energy-Water-Food nexus and Financing dry land agriculture and food production. The conference is expected to yield an outcome document (Doha Declaration) with distilled summary recommendations that represent the consensus of the participants on future courses of action required under all thematic. In preparation for the conference, 30 work papers and researches were set up, besides analytical studies and presentations permeating the talks sessions which will be attended by ministers and senior government officials, policy developers, researchers, scholars and experts, development practitioners and representatives of international and regional organizations, farmers unions and NGOs from all over the world. The synergy to be generated by the sessions and discussion panels of the conference, is expected to result in promoting the idea of the founding of the Global Alliance for Dryland (GDLA), an initiative led by the State of Qatar aiming to create a platform for cooperation between countries with drylands to overcome the challenges of food and water insecurity through harnessing the scientific,technological and financial capacities of these countries. The International Conference on Food Security in Drylands has been adopted by 10 international organizations, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank (WB), Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Program (CCAFS) of the Consultative Group on international Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The conference's sessions are organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute (QEERI) of Qatar Foundation, the Arab Water Council and the Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) of Georgetown University. The Qatar National Food Security Program (QNFSP) is a national initiative established by HH Heir Apparent of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, consisting of an inter-governmental Task Force to develop the Food Security Master Plan for the State of Qatar which it will complete by the end of 2012. The Master Plan will layout a sustainable solution that will be implemented by the executive branch of the Qatari government through the QNFSP Task Force. The implementation of the Master Plan will assist the State of Qatar in the fulfillment of the goals and objectives set by the Qatar National Vision (QNV) of 2030, leading to Human, Social, Economic and Environmental development. The Mission of QNFSP is to develop a comprehensive and sustainable long term solution to the challenges that the State of Qatar faces with regards to its Food Security. The Program could also serve as a model to other dry land countries in the region and globally. (QNA)