BIOTECHNOLOGY, AGRICULTURE & CLIMATE CHANGE
Over time we have developed complex systems of production and supply to meet our needs for food and nutrients. According to the expected growth population rate and the changes in dietary habits, it is estimated that global demand for food will grow a 60% by 2050.
The impacts of climate change on agriculture will affect human well-being due to the effects on crop yields; the increased cost of production; and the impacts on consumption, not only regarding malnutrition but also nutrition imbalances that may eventually involve the development of pathologies, and thus a decreased in the quality of life.
The European Union (EU) needs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture and adapt their food production system to address climate change. Faced with growing demand and global competition for resources, it is necessary to consider food production in the EU in a broader context, linking agriculture and food security with the new technologies available.
This session aims to give a vision of the enormous challenge that agriculture faces regarding climate change and the opportunities presented by biotechnology and its available tools, both to mitigate its effects by increasing the resilience of crops and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
The session seeks to put into perspective the challenge that climate change poses in sustainable food production for a ballooning population, in which the development and application of new technologies supported by scientific knowledge and studies presents solutions to face the problem. The enhancement of knowledge in areas of climate science, the science of data and plant biotechnology will show how agriculture can not only be resilient to climate change, but also part of the necessary solutions to the issue.
Carlos Vicente: Sustainability Lead, Europe & Middle East, MONSANTO (Spain). "WEMA. Water Efficient Maize for Africa".