With the world population projected to reach 9.2 billion by 2050, agricultural and food companies must partner with people around the world to innovate and sustainably produce 70% more food with fewer resources. By addressing food security head-on — through improved production practices, innovative technology and better access — agribusiness is working at a grassroots level to promote economic opportunity and stability in some of the world's most unstable and impoverished regions.

That is the message Land O'Lakes President and CEO Chris Policinski will deliver to attendees of the 25^thannual Nobel Peace Prize Forum — the only Nobel-affiliated event outside of Norway. Land O'Lakes, Inc. is the lead sponsor of this year's Forum, which begins this week in Minneapolis.

"In this interconnected world, our futures are tied to the health and stability of local economies all over the globe," says Policinski. "During the past three decades, Land O'Lakes has improved the quality of life for millions of people through more than 275 development projects in 76 developing nations by nurturing hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers, including those in post-conflict regions who are seeking a path toward food security, stability and a more lasting peace."

Policinski will be joined by David MacLennan, president and chief operating officer, Cargill and Jeff Simmons, president, Elanco, to discuss the connections between food security and peace during a Friday panel moderated by former CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno. Among other topics, Policinski will discuss agricultural cooperatives and their ability to bring would-be opponents closer together at a local level, encourage democratic decision-making and promote ongoing stability in areas where peace is fragile and, in some cases, only recently secured.

In addition to Policinski's participation in this week's panel, the company's global development work in Sri Lanka and Kenya will be the focus of a separate presentation during Saturday's Science and Health Day.