Symposium April 11-12 is on globalization, food and nutrition policy

Pinstrup- Andersen

Lee

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

Cornell will host a symposium, "Globalization, Agricultural Development and Rural Livelihoods," this weekend, April 11-12, examining globalization of markets and the status of world food supplies and of nutrition.

The symposium, in 401 Warren Hall, will feature a keynote address, "Globalization, Agriculture and Rural Poverty: Implications for Developing Countries," by Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Cornell's Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy. The talk will be given in the opening session at 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 11.

The global economy has become more integrated in recent decades because of declining trade barriers, increasingly integrated global capital markets and a greater market orientation of developing economies, said David R. Lee, conference organizer and Cornell professor of applied economics and management. "While many nations have benefited from economic growth, greater employment opportunities and higher purchasing power, the strong negative response of many groups to globalization is indicative of widespread skepticism about its impacts, particularly on the poor."

Lee explained that the world's rural poor depend significantly on agriculture, both for household sustenance and for income generation.

Increasingly, he said, international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization are being called on to address the perceived negative impacts of globalization.

The symposium is sponsored by the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development; the Program on Poverty, Inequality and Development; the Einaudi Center for International Studies; the Polson Institute for Global Development; and the Department of Applied Economics and Management.

In addition to the keynote address, there are four sessions on Friday. The first session, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in 401 Warren Hall, is on "Nutrition, Commodity Prices and Technology."

On the afternoon of the first day, there will be parallel sessions from 1:30 to 3 p.m., in 401 Warren Hall and in 404 Plant Science Building. The final session of the day, "Changes in Global Food Markets," will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in 401 Warren Hall.

On Saturday the symposium will continue in 401 Warren Hall. The day's first session, "Poverty and Trade," will be from 8:45 to 10 a.m. The final session, "Governance, Institutions and Policy," will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

A complete schedule of speakers and their topics is available at http://aem.cornell.edu/globalization.pdf.