Leo Abruzzese, editorial director of the EIU, and Paul Schickler, president of DuPont Pioneer, were featured speakers. The Global Food Security Index, sponsored by DuPont, set the stage for a discussion around the need for leadership and collaboration outside the traditional bounds of agriculture to address the challenge of food security.

 “The global food supply network is tremendously vibrant and complex and many of the skills you have developed here at SAIS are needed to make it work continually work even more effectively than it has in the past,” Schickler told the participants.

The afternoon panel included:

• Walter Andersen, acting director of the SAIS South Asia Studies Program
• Deborah Bräutigam, director of the SAIS International Development Program
• Pieter Bottelier, SAIS senior adjunct professor of China Studies
• Francisco González, the Riordan Roett Senior Associate Professor of Latin American Studies at SAIS
• Robert Thompson (moderator), a visiting scholar in the SAIS Energy, Resources and Environment and International Development programs.

DuPont kicked off its 2013 Agriculture Development Roundtable Series on April 17 in Washington, DC. This first roundtable, titled “Agriculture Value Chains and the Role of the Private Sector,” was hosted jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 

A panel of experts provided insights on establishing methods the private and public sectors can best work together, and focusing on immediate needs, including investments, policies and capacity building, to create an enabling environment for the private sector to support agriculture value chains.   

Roundtable participants included:

• Jim Borel, executive vice president, DuPont
• Demba Ba, director, The Islamic Development Bank
• Shenggen Fan, director general, International Food Policy Research Institute
• Frannie A. Léautier, executive secretary, The Africa Capacity Building Foundation
• Moderator John Heller, senior director, Synergos

This roundtable is the first in a series of four discussions that will be held this year.

The Roundtable series will build on the successful launches of DuPont’s Food Security Goals and Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Food Security Index, both launched in 2012. These initiatives represent DuPont’s public commitment to making a difference and engaging in public discussions about issues affecting food affordability, availability and nutritional value. 

Watch a recording of the event here:

DuPont has been honored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), an agency of the Department of Commerce, for its research efforts to improve nutrition, production and availability of sorghum, a staple crop in Africa. The USPTO Patents for Humanity is an awards competition to recognize patented technologies that address humanitarian needs.

The award affirms DuPont’s commitments to the importance of collaboration and innovation in science, the importance of seeking food security solutions for a growing world population, and the role of patents and intellectual property in encouraging continued investment in science-based research.

“This award recognizes the importance of collaboration across the public and private sectors to bring real solutions to the people and places that need it most,” said DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler.  “Science must be at the heart of solutions to feeding a growing population.”

In Africa, each year up to half a million children become blind from vitamin A deficiencies and nearly 600,000 women die from childbirth-related causes, many from complications that could be reduced through better provision of vitamin A, iron or zinc.  Nearly 300 million people in Africa depend on sorghum as a staple crop, but do not have access to another staple that provides the essential nutrients that sorghum lacks.

DuPont established collaborations with a number of organizations, including Africa Harvest Foundation International, the primary coordinating organization for the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) initiative, to increase the amount and stability of pro-vitamin A, iron and zinc, and improve protein digestibility of sorghum.  In the next several years, the ABS initiative is expected to benefit millions of Africans that rely upon sorghum, which traditionally is deficient in key nutrients.

Pictured: DuPont Scientist Marc Albertsen, ABS Research Lead. Award presented by Teresa Stanek Rea, Acting Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director, USPTO.

At the opening of the 2013 Beijing International Food Safety Forum yesterday, DuPont released a report that takes a detailed look at the country’s evolving Food Security Strategy.  Written in collaboration with FORTUNE’s Content Marketing and Strategies Group, the report focuses on the strides China has taken in its mission to feed 19 percent of the world’s population with only 7 percent of its farmland.  The paper also looks into the challenges in food availability and food safety facing China, as well as the solutions it is taking to tackle these issues.

The paper is the first of a series produced by DuPont and the FORTUNE Content Marketing and Strategies Group.  The papers are designed to help shape discussions at the 2013 FORTUNE Global Forum, which will be held in Chengdu, China, between June 6 and 8.

Watch our video series on food security in China.

Today, the Economist Intelligence Unit released an update to its Global Food Security Index, commissioned by DuPont. The latest food price adjustment factor update to the Index shows that global food prices dropped by 2.9 percent last quarter due to falling grain prices. Food security was also enhanced slightly due to an overall rise in global incomes. Food Security increased in virtually every country during the last quarter in 2012, but our work is far from complete, as nearly 20% of people in the most undernourished countries still do not get enough calories in their diets. The price volatility of food remains a real threat to millions on a daily basis.

To interact with food security data for specific countries, please visit the index at http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com

Maize is a significant contributor to Ethiopia’s economic and social development, providing jobs, income and food. This collaboration will help more than 30,000 smallholder maize farmers increase their productivity by up to 50 percent and help reduce post-harvest loss of maize by as much as 20 percent.

“Ensuring people everywhere have enough food to eat will require sustainable, local solutions and collaboration at new levels,” said James C. Borel, Executive Vice President of DuPont. “The USAID and DuPont collaboration with the Government of Ethiopia marks a significant step forward toward improved productivity of Ethiopian maize farmers through enhanced agronomic practices and inputs.”

Read the full story.

DuPont, USAID and the Ethiopia government sign MoU in Davos, Switzerland. Pictured left to right: Khalid Bomba, CEO of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA); James C. Borel, executive vice president of DuPont; Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of USAID.

Global Food Security Index

This summer, the Economist Intelligence Unit, in partnership with DuPont, launched the Global Food Security Index.  The Index is a tool that is already promoting collaboration, generating insights and stimulating action needed to feed a growing global population. The Index measures vulnerabilities at the root level in more than 100 countries, gauging affordability, availability and nutritional quality and safety. Learn more about the Index and food security in your country.

4-H Planting Seeds of the Future

With support from DuPont, Global 4-H has launched agricultural leadership institutes in five African countries to engage and train youth about agriculture.  Learn how 4-H impacts farming in the United States and abroad.

At DuPont, we’re putting science to work to improve the nutritional value of food, ensuring food safety, and finding smart, sustainable solutions to feed a growing population.

Unique Food Packaging Solutions

DuPont resin, Surlyn, and other packaging innovations maintain food safety, providing new ways to bring nutrition to food insecure regions.  See how our partner, MixPack brings milk to Chihuahua, Mexico.

Science at its Best

Unlike other farmers in the area, Zeka Twoboy experienced an abundant harvest despite difficult growing conditions in Malawi. See how his experience with DuPont Pioneer seeds inspired him to travel 400 kilometers to share his story.

Food Goals
The DuPont Food Security Hub launched in conjunction with the announcement of our food security goals last February:

1. Innovating to feed the world.
2. Engaging and educating youth.
3. Improving rural communities.

Read more about the goals, the event and the Q & A with our panelists here.

Global Food Security Index Launch

DuPont, in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit, launched the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) at locations around the world starting in July 2012. DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman stated that the GFSI “will help us around the world measure the many aspects of food security, providing a common language to discuss what needs to be done. Our hope is that the Global Food Security Index will promote collaborations across the food value chain, generating insights and most importantly, stimulating action.” Read what other panelists and speakers from all of the launch events had to say about the GFSI.

Energy Innovations for Food Security

After attending the World Economic Forum on Africa held in Ethiopia in May of last year, DuPont President Ian Hudson shared his perspective on the relationship between energy innovations and food security.

.@faonews: “Greater private sector role needed to fight #hunger, #poverty” ow.ly/fQoZT #foodsecurity

— CropLife Internatl (@CropLifeIntl) December 5, 2012

Bruce Campbell, CGIAR Director of the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), reflects on new and unique agricultural solutions for farmers in the dry lands across the world.

“Hotter, Dryer — Greener? Dryland Farming Confronts #ClimateChange“by @cgiar‘s @bcampbell_cgiar via @huffpostgreen huff.to/ZqXB2x

— Bertini & Glickman (@GlobalAgDev) December 14, 2012

In November, Global Affairs Senior Fellow at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Roger Thurow participated in a Q&A session in which he discussed his hopes and ambition to work with others in creating a world free of hunger.  Earlier this year, Thurow was also a featured moderator at the DuPont Food Goals Forum in Washington, D.C.

Enough Isn’t Enough: Why #FoodSecurity Matters to Me, By: @rogerthurow, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs goo.gl/kZ2la

— USAID Afghanistan (@USAIDAfghan) December 11, 2012

Last week, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah visited the International Food Policy Research Institute to convey that the US government is committed to identifying and scaling up new agricultural technologies that will impact hunger and food security.

Ambassador @rajshah‘s recent visit to IFPRI affirms @usaid‘s renewed commitment to scaling up proven #ag technologies bit.ly/XT9fCR

— ifpri (@ifpri) December 12, 2012

In observation of International Rural Women’s Day, DuPont highlighted the inspiring and challenging work that  Martha Kanengoni has accomplished on her farm in Zimbabwe.  Winner of the DuPont Pioneer National Farming Competition, Martha shared her success stories with farmers from around the world at the invitation-only global farmer roundtable dialogue held during the 2012 World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Following the launch of the Global Food Security Index, the Economist Intelligence Unit announced the first major update to the online tool. The Price Adjustment Factor indicatated food security declined slightly between June and September of 2012.  To announce this update, we shared the infographic below, which highlights some of the key factors presented throughout the index.

This has been a thought-provoking year that has uncovered new challenges and solutions in food security, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We are looking forward to collaborating with new public and private partners in 2013 on projects and initiatives to address food security worldwide. We hope you will join us.