What was the conference about?

 The Beating Famine Conference, held in Nairobi Kenya 10-13 April 2012 centred around low cost, rapid methods of environmental restoration as a pathway to food security and adaptation to climate change. The Conference was held at a particularly pertinent time with: 

Severe famine in the Horn of Africa
Dire warnings of further impending famine and strong advocacy for an agro-ecological approach to building food security
The proposed massive World Vision regional response, Secure the Future proposal in four countries

Over 250 delegates attended the Beating Famine Conference representing national governments, international organisations, development NGOs, researchers and expert practitioners.

“A crisis in soil fertility across the Sahel region of Africa is likely to affect as many as 150 million rural people with 50 million people in danger of severe malnutrition and possibly famine,” Roland Bunch, leading agro-ecologist and author of 'Two Ears of Corn'.