International Green Week of Berlin

16-25 January 2015. Berlin, Germany. International Green Week of Berlin. Established in 1926, International Green Week is taking place for the 80th time in 2015. The IGW is a one-of-a-kind international exhibition for the food, agricultural and horticultural industries.

At the same time, the IGW is the point of origin for

the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) with more than 65 departmental ministers. The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the
future of the global agri-food industry and took place in its current form for
the seventh time. GFFA 2015 was organised by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in cooperation with the Senate of Berlin, Messe Berlin GmbH and in close collaboration with the German agri-food industry, represented by GFFA Berlin e.V

The forum gave representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to share ideas and enhance political understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy within the context of food security.

17 January 2015. Under the title “The growing demand for food, raw materials and energy: opportunities for agriculture, challenges for food security?”, the forum discussed topics, such as the ever greater demand for resources and the changes in the roles played by producers and processers in the food industry, formulate new challenges and identify future prospects.

The International Panel Discussion was a high-calibre discussion hosted by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. It involved representatives
from politics, industry, science and civil society along with approximately 1,400 international guests.

• Welcoming Address Christian Schmidt MdB Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture
• Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria
• Dr. Evelyn Nguleka, President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO)
• Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Joachim von Braun, Director at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn
• Dr. Deon Nel, Conservation Director, WWF Regional Office for Africa
• Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel
• Priest Berlin, President of „Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe“ and President of Bread for the World
• R. Vasu Vasuthewan, Board Member of International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) and Consultant in bioeconomy sector

You can view the video interviews of the International GFFA panel discussion 2015 here.

17 January 2015. The Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Summit brought together politicians from all over the

world to discuss the subject of “The growing demand for food, raw materials and energy: opportunities for agriculture, challenges for food security?”. 

A final communiqué from the summit formulates the Agriculture Ministers’ joint position and feeds into the international agricultural debate. (7 pages)


16 January 2015. Welthungerhilfe and the Center for Development Research (ZEF) jointly organize a GFFA-Expert Panel Discussion: Primacy of food security in bio-economies – an illusory precondition?

Background:
More and more non-food products are being produced based on agricultural raw materials. How much the Human Right to adequate Food is taken into consideration in both, policy design and entrepreneurial action, is decisive whether bioeconomy strategies will impede access to food for poor people or contribute to combating poverty. Based on the presentation of new research results on food security standards this event will tackle the question of how to ensure that the primacy of food security is taken into account in bioeconomy strategies like those of the EU, the German Federal Government and the private sector.

Opening remarks: Dr. Rafaël Schneider (Welthungerhilfe)
Introduction: Prof. Dr. Joachim von Braun (ZEF)
Discussants:

• Dr. Michael Brüntrup (German Development Institute – DIE, Germany)
• Dr. Fred Dzanku (Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research - ISSER, Ghana)
• Michaele Hustedt (Initiative Sustainable Supply of Raw Materials for the Industrial Use of Biomass – INRO, Germany)
• Dr. Wolfgang Jamann (Welthungerhilfe, Germany)
• Clemens Neumann (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture - BMEL, tbc) 

Video-Statements/Call-in:

• Dr. Adebayo Abass (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture - IITA, Tanzania)
• Joseph Rahall (Green Scenery, Sierra Leone)
• Dr. Norbert Schmitz (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification – ISCC, Germany)

See: Videodocumentation of the GFFA 2015