Department of State Special Envoy for Global Food Security Dr. Cary Fowler will travel to Rome, Italy, May 13-21 to advance U.S. global food security priorities in support of building climate-resilient and nutritious food systems in Africa. Afterward, he will travel to Prague, Czech Republic, May 22-24 to highlight the importance of healthy soils as a way for building sustainable agricultural production and reducing food insecurity.
In Rome, Dr. Fowler will participate in the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soil (VACS) Phase 1 Technical Workshop, which is being organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in partnership with the African Union Commission and the Office of Global Food Security, and through the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation. VACS, a part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative, seeks to support the adaptation of crops to climate change and promote healthy soils. The workshop will convene approximately 40 global stakeholders with expertise in nutrition, agriculture, and climate adaptation sectors, who together with VACS technical partners, will identify a list of the most important traditional African crops within the five AU economic sub-regions.
In Prague, Dr. Fowler will attend the International Fertilizer Association Board of Directors meeting and will address industry executives on U.S. global food security priorities. His remarks will encourage government and private sector collaboration to meet the complexities of the current global food crisis. He will also emphasize restoring depleted soils into fertile and fertilized resources, paired with nutritious and productive crops.
Dr. Fowler will also participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives from the fertilizer industry and will highlight Feed the Future. In the discussion, he will underscore the U.S. government’s approach to adapting agricultural systems in Africa through investments in plant breeding of nutritious crops and through improvements in soil health.
Official news published at https://www.state.gov/special-envoy-fowler-travels-to-rome-and-prague/
