Schedule of events

Conference day: Feeding the World’s Rapidly Growing Urban Population

Time	Content	Speakers
7:20 – 8:00 (Optional)	Breakfast Facts & Stats on China (English) Breakfast Crash Course on SAI Platform (Chinese)	Dirk Jan Kennes, Rabobank Jeff Lindsay, SAI Platform
8:00 – 8:10	Welcome and setting the scene	Peter Erik Ywema, Director Strategy & Engagement, SAI Platform
8:10 – 8:40	Keynote address	Pascal De Petrini, Executive Vice President Strategic Resource Cycle, Danone Christian Schmid, Executive Vice President Technical, Nestlé China
8:40 – 10:30	SESSION 1 – BUSINESS STRATEGY TO DELIVER IMPACT Roles and opportunities for the food sector in supporting the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
8:40 – 9:00	The Sustainable Development Goals – Shaping business strategy through to 2030 – The roadmap for delivery and business solutions related to the agri-food sector	Carolyn Opio, Livestock Policy Officer, FAO
9:00 – 9:25	Meeting the sustainability challenges of the food and agriculture sectors – Unlocking significant business opportunities	Jason Clay, Senior Vice-President of Markets, WWF
9:25 – 9:50	China’s 13th five-year strategic plan for the agri-food sector; Sustainability – core to delivering the food supply for China’s future	Martin Ma, Managing Director, Solidaridad
9:50 – 10:15	A practical approach to embedding the SDGs into corporate strategy	Adrian Greet, Global Sustainability Programme Director, Mars
10:15 – 10:30	PANEL DISCUSSION: Can the agriculture and food sectors play the role required of them in delivery of the SDGs  – Wrap up	Moderator: Steve McLean, Head of Agriculture & Fisheries, Marks & Spencer
OBJECTIVES SESSION 1: This session will explore the SDGs and how they apply to both developed and emerging markets. It will explore the role of the food industry in supporting the delivery of the SDGs, appreciating which of the 17 are most relevant to the sector.
10:30 – 11:00	SDGs networking coffee break
11:00 – 13:00	SESSION 2 – TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION IN ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
11:00 – 11:20	Embedding a circular economy in the food industry	James Pennington, Project Specialist, Circular Economy, World Economic Forum
11:20 – 11:40	The opportunities for farmers to raise capital going forward (farmer engagement technology) and the role of technology in farm investment in agriculture and food production	Dirk Jan Kennes, Global Strategy Farm Inputs, Rabobank
11:40 – 12:00	The development of the Chinese potato industry as a staple food source and for its nutritional health value	Mr Zhang Hong, Research Fellow, Institute of Food Science Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
12:00 – 12:15	Latest trends in sustainable water management, a key priority in the future of global agriculture	Naty Barak, Chief Sustainability Officer, Netafim
12:15 – 13:00	Discussion session	Moderator: Brian Lindsay, SAI Platform
OBJECTIVES SESSION 2: What innovation and technologies are required to feed the fast-growing urban population? To apply these technologies, what skills are required from our future workforce and how will we ensure agriculture attracts the technical expertise to operate this technologically advanced sector?
13:00 – 14:00	Networking lunch
14:00 – 15:00	SESSION 3 –  LEARNINGS & SUCCESS STORIES AT FARM LEVEL
14:00 – 14:15	Nestlé Dairy Farming Institute in Shuangcheng and Nescafé Coffee Center in Pu’er, China	Jonathan Dong, Vice President – Corporate Affairs, Nestlé China
14:15  – 14:30	The sustainability approach to increasing output from the dairy perspective	Sinne Bundgaard Nielsen, Director of Open Innovation Center, R&D Innovation System, Mengniu Derek Wu, CSR Director, Mengniu
14:30 – 14:45	“+ Sustainable Soy” initiative, Cargill and The Nature Conservancy, Brazil and China	Giovana Baggio, Sustainable Agriculture Manager, The Nature Conservancy Brazil
14:45 – 15:00	Open Q&A session	Moderator: Paul Gardner, Vice President Direct Materials, Danone
OBJECTIVES SESSION 3: This session will highlight a number of success stories where food industry players have implemented innovative initiatives as they strive to increase their efficiency and outputs in a sustainable manner.
15:00 – 15:30	Networking Coffee break kindly sponsored by
15:30 – 16:30	Panel discussion and wrap up: Feeding the world’s rapidly growing urban population Forum on urbanization, rural transformation and implications for food industry and security	Jason Clay, Senior Vice-President of Markets, WWF Pascal De Petrini, Executive Vice President Strategic Resource Cycle, Danone  Dirk Jan Kennes, Global Strategy Farm Inputs, Rabobank Erinch Sahan, Head of Private Sector Team (acting), Oxfam Moderator: Ulrike Sapiro, Director of Sustainability & Stakeholders, Coca-Cola & SAI Platform President
OBJECTIVES PANEL DISCUSSION: This session will bring together the findings of the earlier sessions and debate the key priorities for the food sector in the future to ensure that the SDGs are at the forefront when feeding the fast-growing urban population. This provoking panel debate will draw on knowledge and expertise from many different angles to show how a collaborative approach to sustainable agriculture can achieve the desired outputs.

20:00-22:15 – Gala dinner 15th Anniversary Celebration kindly sponsored by 

Keynote speech:

Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture, Nestlé  and SAI Platform Honorary President

Venue gala dinner: The Bai family mansion restaurant

AM: SAI PLATFORM ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS (OPEN TO ALL)

PM: GENERAL ASSEMBLY (SAI PLATFORM MEMBERS ONLY)

Please note that the domestic flight taking you to the field visits will depart on the evening of April 25th, returning to Beijing on the evening of the 26th.

FIELD VISITS

For more information on the schedule of field visits go to the ‘Field Visits’ section.

Please note that the domestic flight taking you to some field visits will depart on the evening of April 25th, returning to Beijing on the evening of the 26th. 

Please note that the deadline to register for the field visits, or change your choice of field visit, is March 25th.