JCU Students Hosted by IFAD

John Cabot University students enrolled in Professor Margaret Kneller’s natural science classes were hosted at the International Fund for Agricultural Development‘s (IFAD) headquarters for a briefing session dedicated to understanding topics that will be on the Rio+20 Summit agenda.

David Paqui, the Events Officer who organized the program, emphasized the mission of IFAD to enable rural poor people to increase their income and food security. Mattia Prayer-Galletti explained projects to improve nutrition, with some micro-level examples from Assam, India. Jeff Brez and Sarah Hessel described how “sustainability” and “resilience” are key metrics for IFAD supported projects, so that farmers and their crops can be prepared for climate change.

The collegial atmosphere of the session allowed students to question the speakers in order to understand the scope and range of IFAD-supported projects.