Welcome

The international conference “From Seed to Pasta and Beyond: a Sustainable Durum Wheat Chain for Food Security and Healthy Lives” will bring together the main expert of the durum wheat – pasta production chain to present state-of-the-art results in (i) durum wheat production as related to agronomy, physiology, genetic resources, breeding, genomics, marker-assisted selection, tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses and (ii) technological quality and nutritional aspects related to milling and pasta production. Historical and socio-economics aspects will also be addressed.

The main objective of the conference is to showcase how multidisciplinary science and technology can contribute addressing and coping with the current and future challenges faced by the durum wheat-pasta production chain, particularly in relation to the main themes of EXPO 2015 (food security, sustainability and nutrition) and climate change.

In view of the importance of durum wheat as staple in the diet of millions in Mediterranean countries and elsewhere, the conference will contribute to the debate on how to best sustain the global food and agriculture systems from input to final consumption, considering also changing consumers’ preferences and societal interests as related to health and environmental issues. This will be achieved by gathering some of the best world experts on durum wheat and pasta production and the effects on human health of the consumption of pasta and other durum-derived food. The broad range of topics addressed by the conference and the presence of industrial speakers will provide a high interdisciplinarity and will encourage new public-private partnerships. The conference will provide a unique and timely opportunity to debate and define actions able to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the durum-pasta chain.

During the last day of the conference, to be held at the Italian Pavillion at EXPO, a round table discussion will engage prominent institutional, political and industrial stakeholders to address the challenges and opportunities that the durum wheat-pasta chain will face in the coming decades.