Food Systems in Agrofood and Nutrition Education
Food Systems in Agrofood and Nutrition Education
Workshop Overview:
The Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) at the American University of Beirut is a reference academic center specialized in issues of relevance to the Middle East related to agriculture, food, nutrition, and the environment for the enhancement of livelihoods, human health, and well-being. This workshop leverages the Faculty’s expertise in food system transformation, and focuses on Food Security in the MENA region from the food systems perspective. Challenges to food security regionally and globally are multi-faceted, and have rapidly been gaining traction amidst fluctuations in compounding factors, such as climate change, increasing population size, scarcity in natural water and agricultural land, and disruptions in agro-food logistics and supply chain. The sessions will focus on defining some of the pressing issues of food security in the region, and discussing the way forward in developing strategies and solutions for sustainable food security in the MENA.
Date: 16/11/2023
Time: 2:00-4:30 PM
Venue: Conference room 2 at Expo2023 Doha
Workshop Objectives:
At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to
1. Understand the levers in food systems transformation for food security.
2. Identify priority areas for collaboration to enhance regional food security.
Presenters
Dr. Ali Chalak
Dr. Chalak holds a B.Sc. Agriculture from the American University of Beirut (2000), and M.Sc. Tropical Agricultural Development from the University of Reading, UK (2001). He completed my Ph.D. in Applied Economics at Imperial College London, Wye Campus, UK, in 2008. He worked in consulting in the UK between 2006 and 2009, conducting extensive economics and customer research for various water and wastewater and other utility providers in the UK and Europe. He joined the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at AUB as faculty member in 2009, and is currently Associate Professor of Applied Economics. He currently serves as the Director of the Graduate Food Security Program. He also serves as the Faculty Undergraduate Coordinator for the Agribusiness Program, and Graduate Coordinator of the Rural Community Development. His main research interests lie in the areas of applied choice analysis, food waste behavior, food security and systems, health policy, transportation economics, and agrarian and development studies. He remains actively engaged in independent economics consulting for both local and international clients from the private, public and voluntary sectors. His research and consulting are highly published in peer-reviewed journals.
Professor Shadi Hamadeh
Dr Shadi Hamadeh has been a professor of animal sciences at the American University of Beirut since 1988 and has held various administrative positions within the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. His research interests range from animal–environment interactions to sustainable food systems leading to over 100 international publications as books, book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. He co-founded and has been leading the award-winning Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU) since 2001, an initiative transforming food and agriculture, implementing multimillion rural research and development projects in Lebanon and the region.
Professor Ammar Olabi
Professor, Interim Dean
Omar Obeid is a professor (chair) of Human Nutrition, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Obtained his MSC (1986) and PhD (1990) from King’s College London and did few years of post-doctoral work at the same Department. Thereafter, was employed as lecturer at St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry before joining the American University of Beirut in 2001.
He has about 30 years of experiences in the field of Nutritional biochemistry. His area of expertise is related to nutrition and metabolism with a special focus on micronutrients and energy balance. He delivers two graduate courses on vitamins and minerals. Hold extensive experiences in the execution of human and animals’ studies. He is involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of several research projects in collaboration with international institutions. He performed many nutritional consultancies for several UN (WHO, UNICEF, FAO, WFP, WB), NGOs and scientific institutions. He has significant number of scientific publications in reputable journals.
Dr. Hadi Jaafar
Dr. Jaafar is a distinguished professional with a strong background in agriculture, water resources, and remote sensing. He founded and currently leads AgHive, a unit specializing in remote sensing and smart irrigation at AUB’s Department of Agriculture, where he also serves as Chairman. His expertise lies in water resources, GIS, and remote sensing applications, particularly in agriculture, water, and food security. Over his career, he has guided more than 40 graduate students and published extensively in reputable journals.
Dr. Jaafar is renowned for creating AgSAT, a leading smart irrigation application that employs remote sensing technology. As a principal investigator, Dr. Jaafar leads several projects, including a $1 million Google.org-funded initiative to apply artificial intelligence to determine agricultural water needs through remote sensing. He is also involved in significant research endeavors, such as the Horizon Europe TRANSCEND Project and H2020’s TALANOA-WATER Project. Dr. Jaafar holds a Ph.D. in Irrigation Engineering from Utah State University and multiple degrees from the American University of Beirut. His contributions to the fields of agriculture and water resources are substantial, and he actively collaborates with various international research networks and organizations.
Dear Participant,
We regret to inform you that the registration period for our workshop has now closed. We are unable to accept any new registrations at this time. This measure is in place to ensure we can provide the best possible experience to all attendees and maintain the quality of the event. We are grateful for your interest and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We hope you will consider joining us for future events.