Ebola impact on food security a topic as West African officials attend World Food Prize

Officials from African nations are among international dignitaries gathering for the annual World Food Prize award ceremony to discuss the challenges of feeding a growing world population.

Ebola was not initially scheduled to be part of a three-day symposium that accompanies the award ceremony, but the attendance of prominent West African government officials prompted the inclusion of Ebola's impact on food security in the program.

World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth Quinn says Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma was to deliver the keynote address Thursday but is staying home to deal with the Ebola crisis. He'll deliver the speech via satellite. An agriculture minister and a special adviser to Koroma will attend.

Liberia's Agriculture Minister Florence Chenoweth will be in Des Moines for a Thursday morning panel discussion.