Although early in the morning, the headlines attracted many participants. Padruot Fried from the Swiss Forum for international Agricultural Research (SFIAR) gently led trough the headlines: Public support from SDC Yves Guinand from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) highlighted the contribution from the Swiss Confederation with respect to food security. Swiss Research Institutions Prof. Bernard Lehmann, dean of the department of Food- and Agriculture (D-AGRL) at ETH Zurich, Fritz Schneider from the Swiss college of Agriculture (SHL), Markus Giger from the Centre of Development and environment of University of Berne (CDE) and the National Centre of Competence in Research North-South (NCCR North-South) and Urs Niggli from the Swiss research institution for organic agriculture (FiBL) then outlined the available resources and the strategies in addressing the particular research interests respectively. Private Initiatives Hans Jöhr from the Nestlé Company was glad to present a sample of different sustainable agriculture initiatives from different emerging countries. SFIAR award ceremony