Climatic changes are expected to have wide-ranging impacts, such as reduced agricultural productivity, increased variability of water availability, increased coastal erosion and sea water incursion, and increased frequency of extreme climatic events which ultimately threaten the non-traditional security threats such as food security. Climate change and food security is a global phenomenon, therefore invite a global engagement of scholars, academicians, policy makers and practitioners to formulate viable strategy.  

The Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is a grand strategic initiative that not only underpins China’s global engagement but also presents a range of opportunities for the countries involved. It is one of the most comprehensive global undertakings attempted by a state in the 21^st century.  The project encompasses a comprehensive interconnectivity framework that engages state partners as well as regional allies into a social, technological, economic and communicational prism. The project encourages state parties to bridge outstanding gaps in their interactions and aims to build interregional connectivity towards a shared socioeconomic enterprise among the participating entities.

For Belt & Road Initiative to succeed both as a theoretical intellectual enterprise and as a practical series of accomplished projects, there needs to be a comprehensive academic discourse in order to dissect policy options and prospective challenges. The global food security is a serious challenge of the 21st century whereas climate changes threaten to further aggravate the risks of hunger and malnutrition to the ever-increasing global population. To overcome these challenge, transdisciplinary coordinated efforts including a steady stream of technical and institutional innovations are needed to safeguard and enhance the capacity of food systems.

The food and agricultural cooperation are main aspects of the BRI. Pakistan, under its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has displayed proficiency and pace of accomplishing basic targets set out by both states with respect to intended dividends. Discussing major issues, prospective benefits and impending challenges are a priority between principal and cooperating state parties in examining avenues of exploration for a clear future towards regional connectivity for better livelihood and prosperous future. The proposed conference will help lining stakeholder across the BRI countries amid:

1: Provide an avenue for sharing initiatives and experiences in addressing food insecurity, climate change impacts and poverty.

2: Facilitate sharing of information; practices, knowledge and skills generated from research and development activities.

3: Create awareness on the role of the BRI in promoting inclusive and sustainable food supply & agriculture system vis-à-vis improving community resilience against the threats of climate change

The geo-strategic position of MNS- University of Agriculture, Multan (MNSUAM) is very important as it is located in South Punjab, which is the new agricultural hub of Pakistan. The importance of MNS-UAM has increased many folds due to its strategic location with respect to rural economic activities, access from all provinces and especially with respect to CPEC. This is one of the emerging agricultural universities of the country where students from across the country are pursuing their degrees only in the disciplines related to rural economy and perspective. The university has a rich culture of working with the rural communities, agri. Businesses and policy makers including Agriculture Departments, policy think tanks and opinion leaders. Considering these advantages of MNS university of agriculture, we are taking lead to organize a conference on the subject of global as well as regional concerns.

Department of Agri. Business & Applied Economics and Center for Agriculture Sustainability in South Punjab at MNS University of Agriculture Multan are working for the aims to present varied situations and discourses across the BRI countries which can be helpful in achieving the conference objectives and will help policy makers, researchers, practitioners, academicians and community to realign the approach to better understand environmental, nutritional, agricultural, demographic, socio-economic, political, technological and institutional drivers, costs and outcomes of current and future food security. Interactions with contextual factors including climate change, urbanization, greening the economy and data-driven technologies will be central.

The program will help in sharing of knowledge for:

1. Improving food availability through addressing agricultural vulnerabilities under the changing climate
2. Enhanced food access through better regional Connectivity: Role of community and technology to improve nutrition status especially the gender dimension of the nutrition, food system and access
3. Provide an avenue for sharing initiatives and experiences in addressing food insecurity, climate change impacts and poverty.
4. Overcome geopolitical and geostrategic challenges to BRI partners with specific reference to the regional and international food trade, agri. businesses and sustainable food supply chains
5. Better understand regional Non-traditional Security threats especially emerging due to the abruptly changing climate and socio-economic prospects to improve the adaptation and ultimately resilience
6. Sustainability framework for partner states through internal stabilization.
7. Assessing the net effects of climate change on food systems and ensuring food security in context of climate change.
8. Increasing investment in resilient agricultural development to support adaptation especially in smallholder agriculture.
9. Promoting diverse food systems for building resilience in agricultural systems.
10. Introducing and mobilizing social protection programs to increase the resilience of livelihoods exposed to climate risks.

Submission Guidelines

The Organizing Committee of The International Conference on Food Security and Value Chain Improvement under Belt & Road Initiative is calling for abstract submissions. To present your research at the conference your abstract must first pass double-blind peer review.

Key Information

• Conference Dates: December 6 - 7, 2022
• Abstract Submission start date: August 01, 2022
• Abstract Submission Deadline: November 08, 2022
• Results of abstract review returned to authors: Generally, within two weeks
• Conference registration for presenters is November 21, 2022, and for participants is November 30, 2022.

Registration Streams:

Please register using the following link Register Here

List of Topics

The ICFSVC Organizing Committee welcomes papers from a wide variety of interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives, and submissions are organized into the streams and sub streams listed below:

• Inclusive agriculture for regional food security
  • Modern approaches to food production systems
  • Production and dietary diversity Through Social and Economic Integration
  • Investment and way forward in agriculture R&D
  • Consumption patterns and undernourishment
  • Marketing potential and exportable product development
  • Knowledge sharing for regional prosperity
  • Transformation of food systems
• Climate Smart Food Systems and prospects for growth
  • Climatic modelling and scenarios for sustainable food supply
  • Socio-Economics dimensions of mitigation and adaptation against climate change and environmental degradation
  • Commodity pricing and sustainable agriculture development
  • Productivity and efficiency studies under climate change
  • Community based actions & Knowledge sharing on agricultural transformation, food security and climate change
  • Sustainable input use
  • Sustainable development in agriculture: role of fisheries and forestry
• Value Chains, Agri. Business development and well-being w.r.t. cross boundary trade
  • Value chain development and Market access, under BRI
  • Multilateral trade agreement for cross-boundary trade
  • Sustainable Supply chain management and value addition
  • Social dimensions of economic transformation and trade
  • Digital transformation for modern cross-boundary trade
• IT/ Smart Solutions for effective decision making (Agriculture, Logistics, Product Development)
  • Future of SMART Agriculture and Crop management for sustainable food systems
  • Predictive analytics for smart farming
  • Smart solutions for precision agriculture
• Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Role of Communities with Shared future
• Poster Competition

Committees

• MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, and
• Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future (PRCCSF), Islamabad

Organizing committee

• Prof. Dr. Irfan Ahmad Baig          (Convener)
• Prof. Dr. Mubashir Mehdi             (Member)
• Prof. Dr. Nasir Nadeem               (Member)
• Dr. Fahim Nawaz                        (Member)
• Mr. Shoaib Nasir                         (Member)
• Mr. Abd-Ur-Rehman                    (Member)
• Dr. Umar Ijaz Ahmed                  (Secretary)

Venue

The conference will be held in MNS University of Agriculture Multan, Old Shujabad Road, Multan

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to icfsvc@mnsuam.edu.pk or contact on 0300-8547247.