KU conference to explore future of agriculture from international perspective
LAWRENCE – Lawyers, policymakers and scientists will explore the future of agriculture from an international perspective at a scholarly roundtable hosted by the Center for International Trade and Agriculture at the University of Kansas School of Law.
Internationally known environmental experts Wes Jackson, founder and director of The Land Institute, and Mark Cackler, manager of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department at the World Bank, will be among the presenters at the conference, set for Thursday, Feb. 2.
The roundtable will run from 9:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 107 Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th St. Although the conference is free and open to the public, registration is appreciated. Register online, where the complete schedule is also available.
In its second major conference, the Center for International Trade and Agriculture will focus attention on the promise that agriculture holds (and risks it poses) for economic growth in developing countries, agriculture’s role in environmental degradation, the need for a new Green Revolution, the prospects for the financial stability of the agriculture industry in coming years and other aspects of the future of agriculture.
In addition to Jackson and Cackler, presenters will include:
• Keith Meyer, E.S. & Tom W. Hampton Professor Emeritus, University of Kansas School of Law
• Neil Hamilton, Dwight D. Opperman Chair of Law and director, Agricultural Law Center, Drake University Law School
• John Head, Robert W. Wagstaff Distinguished Professor, University of Kansas School of Law
Panel discussions and opportunities for questions and discussion will follow each presentation.
Jackson is the author of several books, including “Man and the Environment,” “New Roots for Agriculture” and “Becoming Native to This Place.” He was a 1990 Pew Conservation Scholar, became a MacArthur Fellow in 1992 and in 2000 received the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” Life magazine named Jackson one of 18 individuals it predicts will be among the 100 “important Americans of the 20th century,” and he was named one of Smithsonian magazine’s “35 Who Made a Difference” in November 2005. His Land Institute, based in Salina, aims to develop an agricultural system with the ecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops.
As manager of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department, Cackler oversees the World Bank's global programs for rural poverty alleviation, agriculture and natural resources management. He grew up in Moline, Ill., and worked as an overseas representative for John Deere Intercontinental, based in Thailand, before joining the World Bank in 1981. At the World Bank, Cackler has worked in agriculture and natural resources positions relating to East Africa, China, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands, and he worked in the Bank’s New Delhi office for several years before assuming his current responsibilities.
The Center for International Trade and Agriculture brings together scholars, practitioners, policymakers and students around the study and practice of international trade and agriculture. In addition to sponsoring conferences, the center hosts Visiting Scholars, educates and trains law students through course work and summer placements, and hosts a working papers series. The center is co-directed by Head and Raj Bhala, Rice Distinguished Professor, and funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.