University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) organised their second Food Security in Small Islands and Developing States (FSSIDS) 2022 conference in handling the food security issue that’s occurring in this country, especially after the recent shortage of chicken and food inflation rates at 4.1% higher compared to last year.

Food Security in Small Islands and Developing States (FSSIDS) 2022 Conference

As stated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the instability of our food system is a result of the domino effect caused by the pandemic, climate change, rising prices, and international tensions. Malaysia ranked 39th in the world and second in Southeast Asia in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for 2021

This 4-days conference attended by  about 50 academic and non-academic experts, from 11 countries, led by Associate Professor and Director of Sustainable Food Systems, UNM Future Food Malaysia, Dr Chin Chiew Foan (陈巧芬), as Chair, and Research Manager, UNM Future Food Malaysia, Dr Goh Ee Von, as Co-Chair. It focuses on the challenges each region and their respective food systems are facing.

Dr. Chin, Associate of Professor and Director of Sustainable Food Systems, UNM Future Food Malaysia said:

Food systems are extremely complex. We need to first understand the many players in that system, and what each of their roles are so that we can work collaboratively to address the problem. This isn’t about pinning the blame. We all have an equal role to play, and each of our actions can positively or negatively impact the global food system.

Dr. Chin, Associate of Professor and Director of Sustainable Food Systems, UNM Future Food Malaysia

UNM’s mission is to have more conversations regarding food security to address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically SDG2, ‘Zero Hunger’ and SDG17, ‘Partnerships For The Goals’.

FSSIDS 2022 Conference Output

Due to the  recent shortage of chicken and increasing food inflation rate, they can conclude that the best way is through preservation of agricultural land and providing incentives and subsidies to farmers, fishermen and smallholders. They also discussed further and deeper on what they concluded in last year’s FSSIDS; FAO mentioned that the existing national, regional and global policies, strategies, legislation, and investments are compartmentalised. 

FSSIDS 2022 makes one small step to addressing this issue by bringing people from different expertise into one room, to achieve one goal. UNM main intention is  to further manage this issue by setting up FSSIDS network and having more conferences in the future.

For #WorldFoodDay this 16 October, UNM urges everyone,  from producers to consumers, to encourage conversations on food systems, and to start thinking about how operations, processes and consumption habits impact food security in the long term. Together we can achieve an inclusive and sustainable future for all.

For more information and detail, visit their official website, Facebook, and Instagram. 

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