College of Engineering Sponsors Global Food Security Conference

University Relations

Lalit Verma was instrumental in organizing a global conference on food security

Our world faces a growing population and a changing climate, which pose threats to our food, water and energy supplies. Lalit Verma, head of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, believes the key to protecting these resources is developing innovative engineering and technology solutions and making these available around the world.

Verma served as president for the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in 2014 and 2015. In this position, he was instrumental in organizing the Engineering and Technology Innovation for Global Food Security Conference. The University of Arkansas College of Engineering and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture were among the sponsors of the conference.

The conference was held in South Africa in October, and it was co-hosted by Stellenbosch University. It was the first conference of the ASABE's Global Engagement Initiative held outside North America. Two more conferences, addressing water and energy, are planned for the future.

At the conference, Verma moderated an open forum on Global Engagement and Active Partnerships to Address Grand Challenges. In this forum, leaders in the field of biological and agricultural engineering discussed opportunities for global partnership to address the Grand Challenges that ASABE has identified. These include improving food productivity; reducing food losses and waste; enhancing energy conservation and efficiency; developing adaptable renewable energy systems; improving water availability; conservation and efficient use; and providing clean water for multiple uses.

The conference program also included forums on different aspects of food security, technical paper presentations and a poster session.

Verma explained that he was motivated to help create this conference series because of the pressing issues facing the world in these areas. "The issues of food, water and energy security are more severe on a global scale than they are in this country," he explained. "We need to work with other countries and help them address these challenges based on what we've learned."