ATSE Food Security Workshop

ATSE food security workshop

Australia's food security is under growing strategic scrutiny, yet significant gaps remain in understanding its true nature, scale, and the policy options available to address it. This hybrid workshop, convened by the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) Agriculture and Food Forum, brings together researchers, policymakers, industry and young professionals to examine three critical questions:

Does Australia have a food security problem, and what is its nature?
What are Australia's aspirations and role in Australian and regional food security?
And what politically feasible policy levers exist to address food insecurity?

The workshop will take place over two half-days, with the first day focused on setting the scene and defining the key challenges, followed by a second day dedicated to exploring practical solutions and developing actionable outcomes.

Day 1 – Wednesday 12 August 2026: 1:30pm–5:30pm AEST (scene-setting and problem definition)
Day 2 – Thursday 13 August 2026: 8:30am–12:30pm AEST (solutions-focused discussion and actionable outcomes)

Held immediately following the Crawford Fund's Food Security 2026 Conference (10–11 August), this workshop is designed to build on that momentum, situating Australia's domestic food security within the broader context of regional R&D partnerships and international collaboration.

Price: $50 per person. The ticket price is $50 per person, whether you attend one day or both days.

Free for online attendees

Date

Wednesday 12 August 2026 - Thursday 13 August 2026

Location

CSIRO Black Mountain Discovery Lecture Theatre

Time

1:30 PM - 12:30 PM

Important information

The workshop will be delivered across two half-days:

Day 1 – Wednesday 12 August 2026: 1:30pm–5:30pm AEST
Day 2 – Thursday 13 August 2026: 8:30am–12:30pm AEST

Price: $50 per person. The ticket price is $50 per person, whether you attend one day or both days.

Free for online attendees

Registration coming soon arrow_forward

Speakers

Dr Andy Sheppard

FTSE

Chief Research Scientist CSIRO

Dr Andy Sheppard’s scientific and technical reputation and academic achievements are in biosecurity, invasion ecology, biological control and risk analysis. Since 2006 has been a CSIRO Research leader of three different CSIRO programs on plant, animal and environmental biosecurity and terrestrial biodiversity management. He was Research Director in the CSIRO Health & Biosecurity business unit from 2015-2021. He is the non-residential Director of CSIRO’s European Laboratory in Montpellier since 2002. Current primary role is a secondment into the Commonwealth Department Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry as Co-Executive Director of DAFF-CSIRO Catalysing Australia's Biosecurity Initiative after instigating this partnership across both agencies. This $50-$100M Mission launched in early 2024.

He serves on a number of boards/advisory committees including the Governing Board and the Scientific Advisory Body for the OECD Cooperative Research Programme, the Federal Government National Biosecurity Committee, the Federal Government Threatened Species Scientific Committee and the CSIRO Centre of Australian National Biodiversity Research. He has led a portfolio of research projects in weed and pest and invasive species management based on Australia, South Africa and France. He was elected to the Australian Academy of Technology & Engineering in 2019 and International Fellow of the Académie d'Agriculture de France in 2020.

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Dr Helen Cleugh is an atmospheric scientist, working in CSIRO until 2020. She is now an Honorary Professor at ANU, and former Vice Chair of the World Climate Research Programme. In 2017, Dr Cleugh became the inaugural Director of CSIRO's Climate Science Centre, after leading CSIRO’s climate and atmospheric research for over a decade. She built collaborations nationally, including national research infrastructure for ecosystem observations (NCRIS TERN and OzFlux) and Earth System Models (ACCESS-NRI). Her research explores the influence of land-air interactions on climate, carbon uptake and water availability – providing data, information and knowledge for resource managers, decision and policymakers.

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Professor John Dixon is recognised internationally as a leading advocate of international agricultural research and its benefits to developing country farmers, as well as to Australia. For four decades he has worked in the field helping smallholder farmers increase their productivity, quality and sustainability through farming systems research and development, sustainable intensification and diversification and innovation systems, and at the same time being instrumental in policy changes at the highest levels of global agricultural institutions.

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Ben Trevaskis is the Research Director of the CSIRO Farm Productivity Program. This research program has more than 200 people located across Australia undertaking research and innovation to develop sustainable, productive and profitable farming systems for future climates. Highlights from the program include the development of digital technologies to improve farm productivity and natural resource management, innovations in pest/weed/disease control and diversification of farming systems for production resilience. Prior to his current role Ben completed a PhD in Plant Science at the Australian National University, spent three years as a researcher in Berlin, and then led research to understand how cereal crop plants sense and respond to the changing seasons.

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ATSE food security workshop