Working towards a secure food future

Professor Kym Anderson

Professor Kym Anderson, George Gollin Professor of Economics at the University of Adelaide, has recently been appointed as President of the Policy Advisory Council of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Professor Anderson will also become Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Washington DC-based International Food Policy Research Institute as of 1 January, 2015.

"The two are very complementary appointments coincidentally occurring at the same time," explained Professor Anderson. "Both agencies have similar objectives, namely to reduce poverty and hunger in developing countries."

ACIAR is part of Australia's aid program. It focuses on partnering with developing countries to help improve their agricultural productivity through research. It also offers significant benefits to Australia.

"It's a real win-win aspect of our aid program," said Professor Anderson. "It assists developing countries while simultaneously helping Australian farmers by improving their productivity through our research."

Professor Anderson's position with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) also centres on boosting global food security.

"IFPRI is a very important agency for achieving sensible policies affecting food and agricultural markets around the world," said Professor Anderson. "It is part of the consortium of 15 international agricultural research centres that are supported by governments of rich countries plus private foundations. ACIAR is the arm through which the Australian government contributes to IFPRI and the other 14 centres around the world."

Professor Anderson explained that "Being associated with the two organisations gives me an opportunity to see things from both points of view: that of the donor of funds on the one hand, and of the recipient of funds on the other."

At the same time, he is serving on an expert panel of the Australian Council of learned Academies that is focusing on Australia's agricultural future, and as a Commissioner on Murdoch University's Commission on Food Security, Trade and Partnerships in the Asia Pacific region.

Professor Anderson will draw on a lifetime of knowledge and experience in fulfilling his new roles. Since graduating from Chicago and Stanford Universities he has spent his career researching international trade and agricultural development economics from his academic bases at the University of Adelaide and the Australian national University. He has also been a lead researcher at the gATT (now the World Trade Organization) in geneva (1990-92) and the World Bank in Washington DC (2004-07). He has published widely in the area of wine economics and globalisation.