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Biography |
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Joachim von Braun is Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), and Professor for Economic and Technological Change at University of Bonn, Germany. His research addresses international development economics topics, economics of natural resources, poverty; science and technology; food policy, and trade. von Braun was Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, DC, U.S.A. 2002 to 2009. 2000-03 he was President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE). von Braun is member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences; (CV at http://www.zef.de/staff/793.html)
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Abstract |
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Bio-Economy and Food Security – opportunities and risks |
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Bioeconomy means to more sustainably grow on soils, with seeds, sun and water, and use biomass, incl. from forests, in interlinked value chains a lot more efficiently, for producing food, feed, fibers, energy, and new bio-based industrial materials. It is a fascinating opportunity and challenge for the next generations of scientists, inventors, farmers, and environmentalists. But food and other uses of biomass are partly competing. That competition increases global and national food security risks. This is especially the case for biomass-constrained areas, such as the Arab region. New policies and actions are required that address the changing root causes of food security risks with investment in production and technology, trade and grain reserves policies, and prevention of excessive speculation in food markets.
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