Scientists call for united approach to produce more food
A united approach from government, researchers and industry to develop new technologies is required to meet the challenges of feeding an increasing global population, a leading scientist has warned.
Over the next 20 years, British farmers will be part of a global food network that will require them to produce 50% more food with less available land, said Chris Pollock, principal editor of a new study into the future of food production in the UK.
However, he warned that government departments and research councils were not working as effectively with farmers now as in the past – yet they are being expected to address a much broader range of issues.
As a result, a study is being published by four UK farming organisations, including the NFU, that has recommended crucial research priorities (see key recommendations below) for the future of food production in the UK.
The emerging findings of the study, entitled Feeding the Future: Innovation Priorities for Primary Food Production in the UK to 2030, were presented at the Institute of Agricultural Management’s national conference in London on Wednesday (21 November).
“Food producers have tended in recent years to deal with today’s problems. If we want to shift the research agenda to deliver for 2030, we need to make sure that primary producers work together and with the funders of more basic research,” said Prof Pollock.
Key recommendations of the report for R&D innovations
- A programme of long-term applied research
- Improve precision and efficiency of agricultural management practices, like genetic and breeding programmes to increase productivity
- A united approach from government, research councils and producer groups
- Identifying missing skills and knowledge
- Government departments working together
“We need to fund programmes for longer-term, applied research that link different sectors of the industry.”
DEFRA minister Lord de Mauley told the conference that innovation and the development and application of technology were the “keys to unlocking the potential of our farming industry”.
But he said the “unduly slow operation of the EU approval process” was deterring investment and innovation into GM technology.
“We want the EU regime to operate more effectively, grounded on an objective appraisal of the potential impacts of GM crops on health and the environment,” he added.
“Of course, we must be careful and base decisions on science and scientific evidence. But it is important that safe GM products should have fair access to the EU market and UK farmers should be able to use this technology where it would help them produce more efficiently and sustainably.”
Speaking after the study launch, Prof Pollock told Farmers Weekly: “It’s basically about producing more, but impacting less.
“The global food system is going to come under pressure and all of those pressures are going to combine to produce (Sir John) Beddington’s ‘Perfect Storm’. Effectively, since there is no more land, the only game changer is technology.”
In cereals, for example, research showed that yields were increasing on average at 2% a year and if this trend continued between now and the middle of the century, agriculture would “just about plug the calorie gap”.
“Unfortunately, maintaining that and reducing impact is going to be a real challenge,” said Prof Pollock. “But the only argument that land managers have is better technology.”
The emerging findings of this project form the basis of a new consultation which is open at www.feedingthefuture.info. A presentation of the final report will be made in March 2013.
Poor yields highlight food security needs