
June 2004
The National Academies
National Academies Advisory: June 25 UN public briefing on agriculture in AfricaAfrica 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 [email protected]. 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 [email protected], or visit www.un.org/media/accreditation. A taped audio file of the meeting will be available online at http://www.un.org/webcast/index.asp.
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