Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Elisavet Zoupanidou
University of Geneva, Switzerland
Keynote: Towards a carbon finance mechanism for reducing emissions from the agricultural sector: Bringing livestock carbon projects to the market.
Biography:
Elisavet Zoupanidou is a Senior Sustainability Manager at Mootral, an AgriTech company. Her fields of expertise include carbon accounting, sustainability, agricultural systems and policy. She has researched and published for academia, international conferences and blogs on issues related to climate change, sustainable food systems, climate smart agriculture and carbon accounting. She currently finishing her PhD on Environment and Sustainable Development
Abstract:
In this paper, I reflect on the implications for science, policy and practice of the carbon offset projects in the livestock sector, with a global focus. So far, livestock sector has not been anchored in climate change policy to the same extent as energy sector, nor has it been considered within the context of achieving GHG targets to a level where tangible outputs are available; particular targets concerning biological emissions from livestock. As a consequence, it is unclear how and to what extent livestock can deliver on environmental sustainability, whilst maintaining current levels of productivity and future demand for livestock products. The livestock sector has an essential role to achieve the Pari’s Agreement’s goals. One of the main barriers to implementation of environmental management practices is the perception by the farming industry that environmental gains come at a cost and impact negatively on profitability. International markets offer an important mechanism to achieve a transition to net-zero carbon emissions worldwide. Here, I address those issues by performing an analysis that considers the extent to which livestock could contribute to achieving GHG reduction targets. This article outlines why shifts towards sustainable animal production systems should be taken up by the Conference of the Parties (COP), and how they could feature as part of countries’ mitigation commitments under their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to be adopted from 2020 onwards In particular, this article addresses the question of how livestock carbon projects, given the current standards for the accounting of the predominant sources of agricultural GHGs (methane and nitrous oxide), can benefit from existing and emerging carbon markets in the world. In other words, how can carbon markets help to reduce the contribution livestock farming is making to global warming? I close by proposing an overarching framework for for reducing the pressure from the livestock system and addressing mitigation options in the short term and beyond through carbon offset projects. Key policy insights • With livestock sector representing 14.5% of the global GHG emissions and about one third of the global methane budget, sustainable animal production systems make a necessary contribution to meeting the climate targets. • Without action, the livestock sector is projected to grow by 70 percent by 2050. • Failure to shift animal production practices will require additional GHG reductions from other sectors. • Countries NDCs should include biological emission targets; options that reduce biological emissions without reducing the number of animals on farms are still fairly limited but available. • Carbon offset projects is an opportunity to bring livestock sector to the climate mitigation table and can leverage sustainable behaviours among the agents of the food chain. Policy makers can use the insights and farm data to structure shifts to climate smart practices, and subsequently identify context specific/relevant implementation policies. • With policy actions in key areas and financial incentives the sector’s emissions could be brought down significantly.
- Food Securty
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Session Introduction
Shahriar Kibriya
Texas A&M University, United States
Title: Givers of Great Dinners have few Enemies The impact of household food sufficiency on micro-level low intensity conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Biography:
Dr. Shahriar Kibriya is an educator, researcher and development professional with expertise on education and institutional policy reform; marketing and innovative social entrepreneurship; development and institutional economics; environment and climate sustainability; and quantitative studies of social science. He completed a PhD degree from Texas A&M University in 2011 and joined the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture as an assistant director. Prior to that Dr. Kibriya worked with Texas A&M International Agriculture in Asia and Africa. In his current position as the associate director of USAID and Texas A&M University’s Center on Conflict and Development, he oversees 26 million dollars of grants and contracts; directs19 projects; teaches 2 graduate and undergraduate courses and leads research through the Strategic Analytics Laboratory.
Abstract:
This study establishes the direct linkage between household level food sufficiency and food sharing benevolence with the reduction of micro level low intensity interpersonal conflict using novel data from 1763 households of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. We investigate two specific questions: i) are food secure households less likely to engage in individual and community level conflict? And ii) is benevolence through food sharing with community members the major channel that food secure households reduce such interpersonal conflict? We argue that showing benevolence through food sharing is the major channel through interpersonal and communal level conflict is avoided by food sufficient families. Using propensity score matching, we find that household food sufficiency decreases conflict with other households by up to 10 percentage points and conflict within the community by 4 percentage points. Furthermore, households that help others with food experience a further reduction of up to 12.4 percentage points in conflict with individual households and 5.3 percentage points in conflict with groups. The findings indicate that benevolence towards others the channel through which food sufficiency reduces household and community level low intensity conflict. Our results hold through a rigorous set of robustness checks including doubly robust estimator, placebo regression, matching quality tests and Rosenbaum bounds for hidden bias. Our attempt addresses several cross cutting themes of the global food security conference including: food security and policy; governance, institutions and trade; and food security and sustainable development goals: synergies, tensions and trade-offs. Additionally, this is one of the first attempts to investigate the relationship between food sufficiency and low intensity interpersonal conflict from an active conflict zone. Furthermore, our quasi-experimental research approach focuses on the policy question of if and how food sufficiency and inter community food benevolence can reduce micro-level conflict.
Kulwa Furahisha Miraji
Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Title: Nutrition and Functional Potentials of Underutilised Pepeta, a Locally Processed Immature Rice-based Food Product.
Biography:
Kulwa Furahisha Miraji is a PhD candidate at Food Quality and Design Group, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Centre. He joined the group in 2017 embarking a four year (2017 – 2021) PhD project based on rice and rice based food products. He work at Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) as researcher since the year 2012. The institute conduct, regulate, promote and coordinate all agricultural research activities conducted by public and private research institutes or organisations in Tanzania.
Abstract:
Pepeta, a flaked rice-based ethnic food traditionally processed using immature rice grains as sole ingredients. Pepeta processing involves roasting of fresh harvested immature rice grains, pounding of roasted grains in a mortar to obtain flattened rice grains, and cleaning by winnowing to remove the husks ready for consumption. Two different rice cultivars, Oryza sativa L. (TXD306 and LAWAMA) at two maturity stages (15th and 24th days after 50% heading, DAH) were processed into pepeta. The effect of processing method on nutrition and functional properties (surface lipid, total lipid, ash, thiamine, niacin, iron, zinc, dietary fibre and starch digestibility in-vitro) on pepeta product were evaluated. A significant effect on surface lipid, total lipid, ash, thiamine, niacin, iron, zinc, and total dietary fibre (TDF) contents were observed (p < 0.05). Pepeta showed higher values than corresponding milled rice grains in both cultivars. It was found that pepeta product is rich source of soluble dietary fibre (SDF), with higher SDF to TDF ratio ranging from 21 – 45% over 18 – 32% corresponding rice grains in milled form. Digestibility of pepeta starch to various starch hydrolysing enzymes in-vitro was slightly lower compared to cooked rice grains. This suggest that pepeta processing conditions (initial moisture content of rice grains, and roasting temperature and time) can be modulated to produce healthy and nutritious rice-based food products with low glycaemic index.
- Food Safety
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Session Introduction
Ishaya, F.A
Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Title: Carbohydrate Content and Glycemic Index of Lima Bean and Pigeon Pea
Biography:
Ishaya, Funmilola Ayodele had her Ph.D Food Chemistry in 2016 from the Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State Nigeria. She is currently a principal lecturer in Department of Science Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria. She has published 12 research articles in reputable local and international journals. She is a member of various professional bodies include; Chemical Society of Nigeria, Institute of Chartered Chemist of Nigeria, Science Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Institute of Science Laboratory Technology and Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria.
Abstract:
The available carbohydrates, amylose, amylopectin and glycemic index of lima bean and pigeon pea were investigated using standard methods. The results of sugar contents (mg/100g) of lima bean and pigeon pea were; glucose (324.46 and 254.83), fructose (312.51 and 260.88), Sucrose (219.86 and 150.25), lactose (147.52 and 134.58) and galactose (167.02 and 108.03) respectively. The starch, amylose and amylopectin contents of lima bean and pigeon pea are; starch (138.43 and 114.89), amylose (106.38 and 89.72) and amylopectin (32.04 and 25.17), while the glycemic index were (26.97% and 35.31%) respectively. The amount of sugar contents varied significantly in both legumes and low glycemic index was also observed especially in lima bean, this makes them considerable as good food substitute for patients with diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.
- Food Science
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Session Introduction
Akinyele Deborah Tolulope
University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Nigeria
Title: Chemical composition of germinated brown rice and soybeans composite flour
Biography:
Akinyele Deborah Tolulope has completed her first degree (B. Tech) in Food Science at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. She has done her internship at SweetCo Foods Limited, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. She is currently serving at Nigeria Youths Service Corps
Abstract:
Chemical composition of germinated brown rice and soybeans composite flour:
Germinated brown rice is an important cereal crop and staple food, popular among the Japanese back in the 1970s because of its rich fibre other nutrients contained in the brown rice. Soybean is an important legume providing about 40% protein for millions of people. Most gruel is from carbohydrate based flours such as wheat, rice, sorghum, etc, with low protein content. In recent years, research efforts in the developing countries have focused on the improvement of protein quality of food products due to mass malnutrition. Addition of soybeans flour was to improve the protein content functionality of the germinated brown rice flour. The study therefore aimed at determining the chemical composition and acceptability of germinated brown rice and soyabeans composite flour.
The results showed that there was a reduction in the anti-nutritional content. Sensory results showed that germinated brown rice-soybeans of 100:0 and 90:10 (gruel), 100:0 non-germinated brown rice and 70:30 (meal) were highly acceptable by the panelists; On the other hand, addition of soybeans up to levels above 30% affected the colour of the samples.
This study showed that nutrient densed meal and gruel can be produced from germinated brown rice-soy composite flour. Hence, consumption of meal or gruel will prevent malnutrition and increase nutrients intake of adults; especially those suffering from dietary and cardiovascular diseases.