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Order of Malta at Munich Security Conference on Global Food Security

Grand Chancellor to open the session

‘Food for Thought: How to Feed the World?’ is the high-level side event organised by the Sovereign Order of Malta at the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 13, at 9:30 am, Hotel Bayerischer Hof.

Environmental degradation, desertification, and systemic shortages in food production continue to undermine security worldwide. Africa, currently the epicentre of global hunger with over 20% of its population food insecure, faces an unprecedented demographic challenge with double its population predicted by 2050. At a time when the global humanitarian system faces a severe funding crisis—with aid budgets estimated to be 40% lower than in 2024—the structural challenges of food insecurity are increasingly acting as drivers of forced migration, radicalisation, and conflict. This session seeks to offer a platform to discuss cross-sectoral collaborations to strengthen local production, build resilient supply chains, and address the funding gaps that leave the most vulnerable regions exposed to heightened risks.

The Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, will open the session, focussing on the Order’s millenary humanitarian commitment to alleviating hunger and the urgent need for a coordinated international response to prevent shortage of food being used as a catalyst for instability. Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will deliver the Keynote Address. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will present a framework overview.

The discussion, moderated by Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, will feature Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), together with other expert panellists. The session will explore how international development institutions and humanitarian actors can fill the growing resource gap and if the current crisis offers a pivot point to reconsider the global food production and trading system.The event, scheduled for Friday, 13 February, from 9:30 to 11:00 CET, will be livestreamed on the Order of Malta’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OrderofMaltaofficialchannel