His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is set to present a video address at the opening ceremony of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), the world’s largest showcase of game-changing agricultural innovations and technology to be hosted in Abu Dhabi next week.
In his address that will be streamed on 9 March, The Prince of Wales will call on participants to contribute to the sustainable agriculture movement through innovation. A pioneer of holistic agriculture with a keen interest in organic farming, the Prince will address the crucial challenge of how food can be produced more sustainably.
Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the second edition of GFIA will run from 9-11 March 2015, in Abu Dhabi in strategic partnership with the ADFCA.
"We are delighted to have the support of HRH The Prince of Wales and are honoured to have him speak at our opening ceremony. The pioneering agriculture techniques used for food production in his work is of critical importance to our goal of feeding nine billion people using less resource and causing no environmental damage," said Mark Beaumont, GFIA Event Director.
The Prince of Wales and other world-leading experts in the fields of agricultural innovation and research will share their expertise under the theme of Climate Smart Agriculture. The exhibition and conference will feature more than 300 next-generation agricultural solutions that could shape the future of sustainable farming around the world.
Taking place alongside a large international exhibition, GFIA 2015 centres on five main conferences that run in parallel at the event. More than 250 speakers in total will address a range of key issues critical to the future of global agriculture and food production in these streams: n Global Climate-Smart Agriculture Summit – driven by the UN Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, a major survey of technologies, techniques and creative directions to devise and implement climate-smart food productions systems n Food losses & waste from prevention to valorisation – technologies, practices and policies to meet the challenges faced throughout the whole value chain n Edible Cities: Building Resilience with Urban Agriculture – innovations and technologies for Creating Sustainable Climate Smart Food systems in the world’s urban areas n ICT for Sustainable Agriculture – making the most of handheld computer power, big data and the connected world n Non-conventional Water Use in Arid Climates – Challenges And Opportunities in extraction and production of water, saltwater agriculture, and reuse n Innovation Programme – the world's greatest collection of creative and sustainable solutions to in sustainable agriculture. Following 450 submissions, the Steering Committee have picked the top 100 to appear at GFIA 2015; each presenter will have just 15 minutes to tell the audience why their innovation can help feed the world GFIA is sponsored by the Food Security Centre – Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Farmers Services Centre, Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Exeed Industries, Al Dhara and the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry. Organised with official support from the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, GFIA 2015 will include a keynote speech by His Excellency Dr Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water.