> Opening Session
> Session 1 : The future of rural areas in an urbanizing world
> Session 2 : The future of agriculture in a globalizing world
> Session 3 : Environmental challenges to agricultural development and food security
> Session 4 : Frontiers of science for agriculture in the 21st century
> Session 5 : Targeting and delivering research for marginal areas and marginalized people
> Session 6 : Policy options for the future


Agenda : The future of agriculture in a globalizing world

Moderators: Hartwig de Haen, Xiaoqing Xu

The global economy is becoming increasingly integrated through information systems, investments and trade, and agriculture is part of this trend. For some countries, agricultural trade expansion - sparked by agricultural and trade policy reforms - has contributed to a period of rapid pro-poor economic growth. Indeed, some of the countries that have been most successful in reducing hunger and extreme poverty have relied on trade in agricultural products, either exports or imports or both, as an essential element of their development strategy. Many of the poorest countries however, have not had the same positive experience. Rather, they are becoming more marginalized and vulnerable, depending on imports for a rising share of their food needs without being able to expand and diversify their agricultural or non-agricultural exports. This is a question of not will they trade agricultural goods, but what goods should they seek to trade and how can they maximize value (and hence profit).

Potential questions to be addressed :

Are existing policies, institutions, infrastructure and safety net programmes sufficient to cope with the globalization related risks to vulnerable groups? What actions must developing countries take to shift their product portfolio to enhance their profitable participation in agricultural trade? How can developing countries compete with the economic and political clout of the much larger and much richer industrial countries? How far can biofuels from agriculture contribute to its diversification and to rural development strategies without negatively affecting food security?

Participants: Related Papers and Presentations: Goh Chien Yen   Jikun Huang Presentation: The Future of Agriculture in A Globalizing World - How to Respond to Globalization? Ke Bingsheng   Michel Petit How to Manage the Globalization of Agri-food Markets Michel Petit Presentation Summary: The future of agriculture in a globalizing world Michel Petit Presentation: The future of agriculture in a globalizing world Michel Petit   WTO Negotiations on Agriculture: Some Implications for Food Security Panos Konandreas