On October 27th, from 9:10-10:30, a panel was held on the topic of agriculture for peacebuilding. This impressive event gathered international experts in the field of agriculture, water development, food production and more.

Nitzan Horowitz of Israel's Channel 10 served as moderator, and the panelists included Professor Samuel Pohoryles, Deputy Director General of the Peres Center for Peace and Director of the Peres Center's Agriculture, Water and Environment department; Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of Columbia's Earth Institute (via video); Professor Ilan Chet, former President of the Weizmann Institute; Dr. Walid Abed-Rabboh, former Palestinian Minister of Agriculture; Guido Barilla, Chairman of Barilla Holdings; Dr. Bonnie Stewart, Executive Director of the Fred J. Hansen Institute for World Peace of San Diego State University Research Foundation; Eng. Fuad Abou-Hadb, General Supervisor of Egyptian Agriculture; and Professor Alexander Likhotal, President and CEO of Green Cross International.

After opening remarks by Dr. Ron Pundak, Director General of the Peres Center for Peace, and a welcome address by Chairperson of the Peres Center's tenth anniversary event, Mr. James Wolfensohn, the session began.

Nitzan Horowitz opened by saying that the world can sustain a much larger population than it currently sustains; that being said, a world food crisis exists and we must find sustainable agriculture development without harming land, water and the environment..

Professor Pohoryles began, speaking about the Peres Center's various cross-border agricultural peacebuilding projects, including the "Integrated Crop Management" program, which brings together Middle East and Mediterranean countries for joint research, crop development, best practices training, pest control and more.

Next, Professor Sachs delivered commentary via video. He discussed the fact that a great deal of the instability and violence in the world is essentially, at the root, a hunger crisis, siting Darfur, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan as examples. He continued to say that what "we characterize as geo-political challenges are all crises that have their root in extreme poverty: arid communities, water-stressed regions, and therefore, these regions find themselves in a food crisis." He emphatically stated that cooperation is the key to solving these problems, and that in regard to this region in particular, Israel has much to offer, but it's essential that Israel does more. Israel is a world leader in technology development and deployment, and currently, there is a great need for improved agricultural technology; poor communities lack irrigation, fertilizer and high-yield seeds, with the situation constantly deteriorating. He concluded by proposing the development of a global fund for agriculture, like the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Professor Ilan Chet next discussed genetic modification of food. He opened by saying that agriculture has a very important challenge, as the world population is growing all the time. There is a world food crisis, with malnourished people in all countries. Accordingly, Professor Chet said that we must look to new technologies – specifically, the genetic modification of plants. However, he mentioned that there is reluctance, especially in Europe, to use this modification. As such, we have to be careful and do it cleverly. We need agreements between countries about what we should and shouldn't do. Professor Chet stated that there is no harm found in eating genetically modified food. Adding vitamins to food creates functional food, and if we take it one step further, we can even include human proteins in our food and stimulate immunizations in our bodies, thereby avoiding certain injections and pesticides and reducing toxic chemicals.

Dr. Abed-Rabboh next spoke about the fact that at the time of the Peres Center's establishment, people had lots of hope. Unfortunately, he stated, there have been many setbacks, with the situation getting worse. He continued by saying "Having said that, I think this raises the importance of the Peres Center's activities". He said that it is important to make peace between people, and that is exactly what agricultural cooperation does. In this region, everyone is affected by the same crises; especially among the Palestinian community, the agricultural sector faces great problems, largely resulting from the occupation. Because Israelis and Palestinains share the same ecosystem, he stated, all actions affect the other side, from water contamination to pollution, disease and pest infestation. He concluded by stating that "there is room for cooperation to face all these problems and understand that agriculture has proven to be the sector where there are win-win situations; having Israel as a neighbor gives us big access to a big market, and Palestinians have benefited from Israel's technology and infrastructure".

Professor Likhotal's speech was entitled "Lacking Food or Lacking Vision?" He spoke about the fact that the developed world has to understand that ensuring adequate food and water supply is a top national security priority and is urgent because of political neglect and irresponsible economic policies. The world population is supposed to increase 9.2 billion over next 50 years, and the greatest part of this growth is occurring in places that already face food and water emergencies. He claims that the solution is comprehensive, and it includes technological, economic and political aspects. He stated that the alternative to the water conflict in Middle East is cooperation, saying that agreements tend to succeed when they focus on the needs of the parties rather than the more abstract concept of rights. He promoted the idea of water-sharing, integrated management and interdependence, both at basin and aquifer levels. He said that the food and water crisis generates opportunities to develop and sell technologies that will be demanded by tomorrow's markets.

Dr. Bonnie Stewart spoke next, discussing the topic of "agricultural development as a tribute to peacebuilding". She talked about the partnership established between the Fred J. Hansen Institute and the Peres Center for Peace, claiming that the shared vision is one of agricultural cooperation serving as a building block for peace, while simultaneously alleviating the food crisis. The Peres Center for Peace teamed up with Fred J. Hansen Institute for World Peace in San Diego in 1980, and has since developed joint research projects catering to Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Moroccans and eventually growing to include the entire Middle East and Mediterranean region. These projects and activities – "agriculture products for peace" – represent a new stage in peacebuilding, with sustainable results that benefit farmers and businesses and help to overcome the food crisis.

Guido Barilla spoke next about "Wheat in the Service of Peace", a four-year initiative undertaken by the Peres Center, in cooperation with Barilla, from 1997-2000. Mr. Barilla says the he was initially unaware of the fact that his company – a food product company – could help promote peace in the Middle East. Then he realized that they could "seed the desert" and try to develop a product that would benefit both societies. The project was very successful and it demonstrated the importance of relationship-building between the people on the grassroots level. He concluded by saying that the world currently faces major obstacles in terms of food production, but through joint research, shared efforts and cooperation, we can overcome these challenges.

Finally, Eng. Fuad Abou-Hadb presented, speaking in Arabic about the importance of regional cooperation.

The highly educational and interesting session ended with questions to each panelist, each of whom contributed a very unique perspective on this complicated topic.