Africa is rich in both natural and human resources, yet nearly 200 million of its people are undernourished because of inadequate food supplies. Strategies are needed across the continent to marshal the power of science and technology in ways that boost agricultural productivity and sustainability, says a new report from the InterAcademy Council, an international group of science academies that includes the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The report, REALIZING THE PROMISE AND POTENTIAL OF AFRICAN AGRICULTURE: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND FOOD SECURITY IN AFRICA, lays out a plan to help ensure that all Africans have access to enough safe and nutritious food. It will be released at a one-hour public meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York City. U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN, who requested the study, will be on hand to discuss it.

MEETING DETAILS:
Friday, June 25, at 3 p.m. in Conference Room 6, United Nations Headquarters, First Avenue at 46th Street, New York City.

PARTICIPANTS FROM THE PANEL THAT WROTE THE REPORT INCLUDE:

SPECIOSA WANDIRA KAZIBWE (panel co-chair), past vice president of Uganda

RUDY RABBINGE (panel co-chair), dean, Graduate Schools, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands

M.S. SWAMINATHAN (panel co-chair), past president of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India, and chair, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Taramani, Chennai, India

REPORTERS: OBTAIN ADVANCE COPIES by contacting the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu. To obtain U.N. media credentials to attend the meeting, contact Abdellatif Kabbaj in the U.N. Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit at tel. 212-963-6934 or e-mail kabbaja@un.org, or visit

Contact: Vanee Vines
NEWS@nas.edu
202-334-2138
The National Academies
25-Jun-2004

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Brown ecologist garners major National Science Foundation grant
2. K-States National Agricultural Biosecurity Center receives $1.3 Million from Department of Defense
3. National Academies advisory: genome data and bioterrorism
4. Story tips from the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 2004
5. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory gets $10 million from NIH to build virtual lung
6. Story tips from the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, August 2004
7. National Academies Advisory: Sept. 18-19 Nanotechnology Conference
8. UNC researchers awarded $8.65 million from National Institute on Aging
9. Story tips from the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, July 2004
10. National Corn Growers Association announces valuable maize genome data now available to scientists
11. National Academies advisory: July 21 meeting on S&T presidential advisory committees