Global Food Security and Sustainability Conference September 05-07, 2016 Beijing,China

One in seven people in the world are “food insecure”, meaning these individuals do not know where their next meal is coming from. As the world population increases to nine billion by 2050, it will require a 70% increase in local food production to feed everyone.It is thus important to  big league companies to collaborate with farmers and communities to improve local food production and food security Food Security is a complex issue that encompasses more than just food production although this is no doubt the cornerstone. Thus the social and economic sciences must provide an interdisciplinary basis along with the natural (biology, chemistry, maths, physics) sciences..Regional differences need to be taken into consideration – weather changes, elevation differences, length of day and soil difference all need to be considered to arrive at the best solution for that area. Efforts such as determining which type of seeds to plant and improving agricultural practices based on the local environment can help to make a positive impact on yield levels.High yield hybrid seeds can help farmers improve their productivity. 

Fish contributes to national food self-sufficiency through direct consumption and through trade and exports. Therefore more attention should be given to increase in production of Aquaculture. In traditional fish eating countries in Asia and Oceania, per capita consumption are mostly above 25 kg. In some island countries in the Pacific the per capita consumption are above 50 kg per year or even as high as 190 kg as is the case in Maldives. The extreme importance of fish to food security and nutrition may be illustrated by assessments on the situation in Africa. FAO estimates that fish provides 22 percent of the protein intake in sub-Saharan Africa. This share, however, can exceed 50 percent in the poorest countries.Aquaculture can benefit the livelihoods of the poor either through an improved food supply and/or through employment and increased income and there is one sure benefit of consuming fish,  that is the nutritional and health benefit to be gained from its valuable nutritional content. Food fish has a nutrient profile superior to all terrestrial meats. It is an excellent source of high quality animal protein and highly digestible energy, In fact, if there is a single food that could be used to address all of the different aspects of world malnutrition, it is fish - the staple animal protein source of traditional fishers.

Climate change affects agriculture and food production in complex ways. It affects food production directly through changes in agro-ecological conditions and indirectly by affecting growth and distribution of incomes,A moderate incremental warming in some humid and temperate grasslands may increase pasture productivity and reduce the need for housing and for compound feed. These gains have tohe increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Finally, a number of recent studies h be set against an increased frequency of extreme events.Another important change for agriculture is tave estimated the likely changes in land suitability, potential yields, and agricultural production on the current suite of crops and cultivars available today. Global and regional weather conditions are also expected to become more variable than at present, with increases in the frequency and severity of extreme events such as cyclones, floods, hailstorms, and droughts. The main concern about climate change and food security is that changing climatic conditions can initiate a vicious circle where infectious disease causes or compounds hunger, which, in turn, makes the affected populations more susceptible to infectious disease. Essentially all manifestations of climate change, be they drought, higher temperatures, or heavy rainfalls have an impact on the disease pressure, and there is growing evidence that these changes affect food safety and food security.

In agriculture and animal husbandry, the Green Revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to increase yield by creating "high-yielding varieties" for example hybrid rice. The handful of hybridized breeds originated in developed countries and were further hybridized with local varieties in the rest of the developing world to create high yield strains resistant to local climate and diseases.. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), genetically engineered crops were grown by approximately 8.5 million farmers in 21 countries in 2005; up from 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries in 2004.The main objective of research and development for food security is to find improved seed varieties, that enable reliable high yields at the same or lower tillage costs through qualities such as resistance to or tolerance of plant diseases and animal pests as well as to stress factors such as climatic variation or aridity, poor soil quality, crop rotation practices, and others. Equally important objectives are the transfer of genes with nitrogen-fixing capacity on to grains, and the improvement of food quality by overcoming vitamin or mineral deficiencies.The realization of these objectives will bring tremendous benefits – benefits that can easily be demonstrated using rice (the staple food for 2.4 billion people) and cassava (the staple food for 500 million people)

In an era of scarcity it is becoming increasingly important to address production and consumption jointly because of the linkages between the two. The transition to a more sustainable food chain cannot be met by concentrating on approaches aiming only at productivity increases - the possibilities of sufficiency oriented research have to be explored as well. There should be open opportunities for transition to sustainable and equitable food systems through a systemic approach founded on a better understanding of socio-ecological systems. So far the focus of research and policy has been on the supply-side by providing technological innovations, however social innovations in the domain of production are as important as technological ones.It is equally important to address demand-side issues, and to reduce the present unsustainable levels of consumption. Therefore, research on behavioral or structural changes in food systems,food processsing  and supply chains should be given a higher priority.

As cities expand, so do the food needs of urban families. The situation of the urban poor is precarious in the present condition of volatile food prices and the financial, fuel and economic crises. The urban poor, often located in the most vulnerable parts of cities and lacking the capacity to adapt to climate-related impacts, will be hit hardest. The challenges associated with supporting the urban poor demand urgent and adequate responses from city and national authorities and international organisations. Urban policies need to incorporate food security considerations and focus more on building cities that are more resilient to crises. Metropolitan, municipal and other local government institutions can play a proactive and coordinating role in enhancing urban food security.Developing local value chains for food and nutrition security is an important task. It focuses efforts on strengthening capacities of local food producers and business to supply more food to domestic and tourist markets to meet demands for a balanced and nutritious diet and to reduce food and feed imports.  

Food security is presently being undermined by a number of challenges such as rapidly growing demand and changes in consumption patterns.The 2007–2008 world food crisis tested the resilience of the global food system and revealed deficiencies in its capacity to efficiently adjust to and absorb shocks that show many signs of growing in the future. If consumers actually do modify their food preferences, the factors that push consumers towards this modification, how consumers overcome this changing vulnerability, if this vulnerability exposes these households to food insecurity and finally to explore adaptation strategies at both individual, household and societal levels. On the other hand Food and nutrition security is about ensuring that everybody is able to access sufficient, affordable and nutritious food. Therfore to build resilience to food crises and help countries ensure that no one is left hungry. In particular, fighting under-nutrition is vital to give the world's poorest children a chance to lead healthier lives, learn better and improve their future income opportunities.

Trade Liberalization is the removal or reduction of restrictions or barriers on the free exchange of goods between nations. This includes the removal or reduction of both tariff  and non-tariff obstacles (like licensing rules, quotas and other requirements). The easing or eradication of these restrictions is often referred to as promoting "free trade." Policies for liberalization in trade that make an economy open to trade and investment with the rest of the world are needed for sustained economic growth. The evidence on this is clear. No country in recent decades has achieved economic success, in terms of substantial increases in living standards for its people, without being open to the rest of the world. In contrast, trade opening (along with opening to foreign direct investment) has been an important element in the economic success of East Asia, where the average import tariff has fallen from 30 percent to 10 percent over the past 20 years.The best approach would be to identify the major sources of income of the poor and ask how liberalization would impact these sources. For a large chunk of the poor population, the principal source of income is labour, and the question is how liberalization will impact the real wage. Some of the poor may own small amounts of land, and thus earn a part of their income from producing and selling agricultural products. In this case, how the profitability of what they produce is impacted must be taken into account.

Biofuel demand is increasing because of a combination of growing energy needs; rising oil costs; the pursuit of clean, renewable sources of energy; and the desire to boost farm incomes in developed countries. In turn, the need for crops-such as maize and sugarcane-to be used as feedstocks for biofuels has increased dramatically. That demand has had a significant and increasing impact on global food systems. The effects of growing biofuel demand are interwoven with tightening grain markets, which reflect demographic shifts and improved diets. In developing countries, as populations grow and incomes rise, diet preferences are shifting from staple crops to higher-value products like meat and dairy. As a result, the demand for grain- and protein-based animal feed is soaring and competing with food needs. These changes have led to increasing pressures on global agricultural markets and higher food costs. Poor people in both rural and urban areas are disproportionately vulnerable to these forces because they spend a large share of their incomes on food. Biofuels subsidies in developed countries tend to drive up food prices, thus reducing consumption and nutritional well-being for net buyers.

The introduction of the first transgenic plant 30 years ago heralded the start of a second green revolution, providing food to the starving, profits to farmers and environmental benefits to boot. Many GM crops fulfilled the promise. But their success has been mired in controversy with many questioning their safety, their profitability and their green credentials.They are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species. Examples in food crops include resistance to certain pests, diseases, or environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, or resistance to chemical treatments  or improving the nutrient profile of the crop. Examples in non-food crops include production of pharmaceutical agents, biofuels, and other industrially useful goods, as well as for bioremediation. Farmers have widely adopted GM technology. Between 1996 and 2013, the total surface area of land cultivated with GM crops increased by a factor of 100, from 17,000 square kilometers ( to 1,750,000 square kms. 10% of the world's croplands were planted with GM crops in 2010. In the US, by 2014, 94% of the planted area of soybeans, 96% of cotton and 93% of corn were genetically modified varieties.In recent years  Commercialization of GM crops expanded rapidly in developing countries. In 2013 approximately 18 million farmers grew 54% of worldwide GM crops in developing countries.

In support of sustainable entrepreneurship goals, business ideas can address improvements to the enabling environment, for example legislative and regulatory improvements, or tackle supply chain related infrastructure constraints. Proposals in Food Security 2016 can also focus on improving access to finance, capacity building through enhanced knowledge and skills, and enable greater access to markets.

From a food security perspective, business ideas should identify ways to sustainably increase food production, enable greater access to healthy food, ensure markets function more efficiently and generate improvements in the overall business climate.