Steep rises and volatility in commodity prices have driven a renewed focus on ownership of
agriculture land and on food security. The debate in Australia has focussed on how our role
as a major food exporter is affected by foreign ownership and changing patterns of land
use. The global dimensions are similar but underlined by the growing world population, an
increased demand for calories and protein from more prosperous people, and competition
from mining, urban encroachment, environmental services and land degradation, against the
uncertainties of changing climate impacts.

The Crawford Fund’s 2012 Parliamentary Conference is entitled “The Scramble for Natural Resources: More Food, Less Land?” at Parliament House in Canberra on 9 and 10 October. The conference - in the Fund's 25th anniversary year - tackles the core issue in global well-being, how to provide sufficient, nutritious food for everyone in the face of burgeoning competition for the globe's natural resources. Can agricultural research, development and policy change help to secure the future for the planet and its people?

The full program and biographies for speakers and online registration can be found on our website at www.crawfordfund.org

Food security in the developed world is generally conceptualized and measured in terms of peoples’ financial ability to afford adequate and nutritious food. This seminar will present data collected through ANU Poll in mid-2011. It suggests that the most widely cited estimates of food insecurity in Australia are likely to underestimate the magnitude of the problem, finding that 13-16% of adult Australians experience some food insecurity and 4-8% can be considered severely food insecure. Low levels of education, responsibility for children and low incomes are all negatively associated with household food security. Yet issues of social equity and inclusion attract little attention in public debates over food security in Australia. Growing interest in food security as a matter of political and policy concern over recent years would appear to have more to do with the combined effects of recent extreme weather events, accelerating foreign acquisitions of agricultural land and uncertainty over the magnitude and timing of future climate change impacts. This seminar will assess both the existing data on household-level food insecurity and future challenges to food security at the national level in more detail.

With leading international and national speakers the Outlook 2011 conference will explore the key issues for Australia's agriculture, fisheries, foresty and natural resource sectors. Sessions include: an economic overview, farm performance, agriculture and technology, food security and trade, climate change, live animal exports, biosecurity, farm chemical management and key commodities.