Food Security: Challenges and Innovations for Sustainable Solutions

In course

This course teaches the fundamentals of technologies for development (Development Engineering) to design, pilot, and deploy appropriate, affordable and robust technologies to address sustainable development challenges and especially those related to extrem ...

Description

This lecture discusses the current state of food security and nutrition globally, highlighting that between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, a significant increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. The instructor presents data indicating that while global hunger levels remained stable from 2021 to 2022, they are still far above pre-pandemic levels, with notable increases in regions such as Western Asia and Africa. The lecture emphasizes the impact of climate change, economic downturns, and conflicts on food security, as well as the rising costs of healthy diets. The FAO's Strategic Framework for 2022-2031 aims to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient and inclusive, addressing the challenges posed by climate change and promoting sustainable practices. The instructor also outlines the importance of innovation in achieving food security, including technological advancements and integrated policies that support vulnerable populations. The lecture concludes with a call for collaborative efforts to ensure that no one is left behind in the pursuit of sustainable food systems.

Instructors (2)

Solomzi Makohliso

Klaus Benedikt Schönenberger

Vision: Scientific research and technology development can be mobilized to help the poorest and most vulnerable in this world. Klaus Schönenberger obtained an MSc in Microengineering (1993), followed by a PhD (1996) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). After a post-doc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, he spent over 10 years in the medical devices industry in leading positions such as Vice-President of Worldwide R&D in a

100m company and Global Vice-Resident of Research and Technology in a

1bn company. In 2009, as he was working for a medical devices company, he received a shock: he realized that there is a huge imbalance in access to medical technology in industrialized versus low and middle-income countries. After a closer look, he discovered that he imbalance’s main cause is a mismatch between existing technologies and business models, with those needed in low and middle-income countries. He decided to leave industry and, in 2009, he co-founded the EssentialMed Foundation, an innovative non-profit venture. In 2011, realizing that both technology and business models needed a profound rethinking, he joined EPFL where he launched EssentialTech, an initiative inspired by the philosophy of EssentialMed but expanded to a much wider portfolio of "essential" technologies. The university-wide program aims to develop innovative technologies and business models, for the benefit of sustainable development in low and middle-income countries. In this role, he has already launched and overseen a dozen large projects. Major Humanitarian actors such as the ICRC, MSF and Terre des Hommes took notice of the innovative approach proposed, and decided to collaborate in 2015-2016. This has resulted notably in the joint creation between EPFL and ICRC, of the Humanitarian Tech Hub at EPFL. In May 2017, Klaus directed and launched a MOOC(Massive Open Online Course) entitled “Technology Innovation for Sustainable Development” which aims to spread the unique methodology and approach worldwide. As of today, more than 6000 people have enrolled. In 2018 a first spin-off company was created. Award winning Pristem SA will deploy an innovative new digital xray imaging system, specifically designed for low-income contexts. In December 2018, the creation of the EssentialTech centre was announced by EPFL's presidency, and Klaus is now the Centre's director. Another spin-off of the EssentialTech Centre is the company HMCare, launched in 2020, which is deploying a transparent surgical mask.

Official source