IFPRI, a Global Leader in Food and Agriculture Research, Opens Program Office in Cairo

IFPRI, a Global Leader in Food and Agriculture Research, Opens Program Office in Cairo

The Cairo hub will produce scientific evidence and build national capacity to raise incomes of the rural poor and improve food and nutrition security in Egypt

Office to serve as a resource for journalists

February 24, 2016, Cairo, Egypt—The International Food Policy Research Institute, a global leader in research on food, nutrition, and agriculture, will launch a new program office in Cairo, Egypt on March 1. In conjunction with USAID and ICARDA, the office will produce scientific evidence and build national capacity to raise incomes of the rural poor and improve food and nutrition security in Egypt.

“I am thrilled that IFPRI is expanding its research capabilities to Cairo,” said Shenggen Fan, IFPRI Director General. “I am confident that the research that comes out of the Cairo office will bring a renewed focus and enthusiasm to eliminating malnutrition and improving food security for the people of Egypt and the entire Middle East.”

The office will be led by Clemens Breisinger, an economist and IFPRI senior research fellow. Since 2010 Breisinger has led the Middle East and North Africa team, which provides knowledge, strengthens capacity and aims at influencing policy and investment decisions for an Arab World free of poverty and malnutrition. The team’s academic papers, reports and policy briefs are widely read and quoted by a wide variety of Egyptian and international media.

“Egypt is a great country with and one of the oldest civilizations in the world,” said Breisinger. “I am looking forward to continuing and scaling up IFPRI’s longstanding collaboration with Egypt.”

Reporters are invited to the Cairo launch event on March 1 at the Conrad Hotel. Representatives from IFPRI, USAID, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Cairo University, ICARDA and other organizations will discuss the state of food policy in the region and how research from the Cairo office can help the rural poor and improve food and nutrition security.

9:00 – 9:30	Registration
9:30 – 10:00	Welcome Remarks Sherry Carlin, Mission Director, USAID Dr. Paul Dorosh, Division Director, IFPRI
10:00 – 11:15	Introductory Remarks Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (expected) Ministry of Health Ministry of Social Solidarity (expected) Mr. Abu Bakr El-Guindy, Major General , CAPMAS Dr. Hala ElSaid, Dean, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University Dr. Alaa Hamwieh,  Acting Regional Coordinator, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Q&A
11:15 – 11:45	Coffee Break
11:45 – 12:30	Inauguration of the Egypt Strategy Support Program Dr. Clemens Breisinger, Project Leader, Egypt Strategy Support Program, IFPRI. Fatma Mahfouz, Senior Research Assistant, IFPRI
12:30 – 13:30	Lunch Break
13:30	Visit to IFPRI Cairo Office (World Trade Center, 16th floor)
15:00	Closing

Reporters interested in attending the launch event or connecting with the Cairo team for future articles should contact:

Fatma Abdelaziz, Senior Research Assistant, IFPRI-Egypt
f.abdelaziz@cgiar.org

Farah Mansour, Communications Specialist at USAID – ‎USAID/ Egypt
fmansour@usaid.gov 

###

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. www.ifpri.org