STARKVILLE, Miss.--At a gathering of international representatives in Kansas City, Mo., today [August 4], Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum moderated a broad-ranging discussion of the role land-grant universities play in food aid and capacity development.
His invited participation at the 2010 International Food Aid and Development Conference comes approximately a month after he addressed similar issues in discussions with several international food agencies based in Rome, Italy, including the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Both are specialized agencies of the United Nations.
Sponsored by USDA and the United States Agency for International Development, the Kansas City gathering brought together participants from more than 20 countries with representatives from the food and agriculture industries, private voluntary and non-governmental organizations, and U.S. and foreign governments. It is the largest such conference in the United States.
"Mississippi State is becoming internationally known as a leader in issues that range from food product development and food safety to weather risk assessment and water supply," Keenum noted. "We want to broaden the reach of the university and its research impact to serve not only our citizens here in Mississippi but those who can benefit around the world."
At the Kansas City meeting, Keenum headed a panel that included administrators at Michigan State University, Lincoln University of Missouri, and Tuskegee University.
"With disasters such as the recent major flooding in Pakistan, or events closer to home such as Hurricane Katrina, there's a need for food that can be quickly deployed in emergencies, for instance," Keenum noted. He said representatives of the World Food Program and Costco Corporation, one of the world's largest retail chains, came to the Mississippi State campus just a week ago to discuss development of a cashew-based food product that could be provided to disaster victims. Keenum said the meeting with scientists and researchers in the University's Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion came as a follow-up to discussions initiated during his talks with UN food agency leaders in Rome.
Land-grant universities, in particular, are well positioned to be in the forefront of developments that can reduce hunger and help other nations improve the capacity to respond to needs within their own borders, Keenum said.
With more than a billion malnourished people around the globe, Keenum said Mississippi State "has an opportunity to provide leadership here at home and on a global basis."
