Learning About Food Security with Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda

The fifth annual Justice for Women Lecture Series took place this week at multiple sites in Maine. For the past four years, CIEE has welcomed the Justice for Women Lecture Series to our headquarters and broadcasted the lecture to alumni and overseas staff. Although we weren’t able to host this year, our Alumni Engagement Coordinator attended a lecture at Deering High School in Portland, Maine to listen and share with you on the blog. 

This year’s speaker for the Justice for Women Lecture Series was Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda, a global leader in the sustainable farming movement with a passion for ending food insecurity and hunger in Africa. Dr. Sibanda, originally from Zimbabwe, is the CEO and Head of Mission for the Africa-wide Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) with a portfolio in policy research, advocacy programs on food policies, rural livelihoods, climate change, and agricultural productivity and markets. Her main focus is to achieve food security by coordinating policy research and advocacy programs across multiple countries. Dr. Sibanda encourages us to think, “What can agriculture do for nutrition?”

The auditorium was filled with Deering High students and guests eager to learn about food security, agriculture, and nutrition. Two students joined Dr. Sibanda on stage to ask a series of questions that helped the audience learn more about her and the significance of her work. After hearing about the poverty in Africa and thinking critically about poverty here in Maine, students wanted to know, “how do we get rid of poverty?” Dr. Sibanda answered that we need education and good leadership to lift one another out of poverty. Part of that good leadership is recognizing the challenge of climate change and finding ways to adapt to it, creating policies that address fundamental needs, and investing in the research and implementation of new agricultural technologies. The lecture was a great learning experience and offered students the opportunity to ask questions to one of the most influential African women in agriculture. You can learn more about Dr. Sibanda’s work by visiting the FANRPAN website.

Although we weren’t able to host an event at CIEE headquarters this year, we look forward to next year’s Justice for Women Lecture Series and will keep alumni posted about ways to take part in the lectures as well!