WWF: balancing food and environmental security
Posted by Helen Dunnett on April 08, 2009 in Environment
At the recent Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), we spoke to Matthias Meissner of the WWF in Berlin.
We asked him for his views on balancing food and environmental security. He sees it as imperative, but that it should be done by encouraging capacity for farming in the developing world, rather than insisting on increasing productivity, say via the use of technology. View the full interview below.
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Comments(0)FAO: Europe’s role as a supplier of food will diminish
Posted by Helen Dunnett on March 24, 2009 in Food & health, Global issues
At the Forum for the Future of Agriculture, organised jointly by Syngenta and the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO) last week, we spoke to Alexander Sarris, Director in the Commodities and Trade Division at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
He gave us some insights into the role of technology in agriculture, the productivity gap that exists in the developing world, and how imperative it is that this gap be diminished (a process which may, in his view, involve the reduction Europe’s role as a supplier of food).
UPDATE: Blogactiv were also present at the event and spoke to Mr Sarris (click below). View all of Blogactiv’s interviews from the event by clicking here.
Unilever on the future of agriculture: productivity and technology
Posted by Helen Dunnett on January 09, 2009 in Global issues
At the recent Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), we asked Willem-Jan Laan, Director of Global External affairs at Unilever for his views on the future of agriculture and the role of technology within it. View his comments in the video below.
A view from the Société des Agriculteurs de France
Posted by Helen Dunnett on January 03, 2009 in Farming
We have another interview from the Forum for the Future of Agriculture for you (see previous posts below), this time with Hervé Morize, Chairman of the Société des Agriculteurs de France, or the French association of farmers.
Mr Morize dispels the myth that productivity and protection of the environment can not go hand in hand, using the example of seed production, and proceeds to give his views on the future of European agriculture more broadly. Click below to view the interview.
European Commission's Joint Research Centre: scientific assessments mean more informed decisions
Posted by Helen Dunnett on January 01, 2009 in Global issues
At the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below) we spoke to Luca Montaranella, who is with the Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit at the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES). The IES is part of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Comission, its role being to provide scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies.
In this clip, Mr Montarenella expressed his doubt over claims made at the Forum that there was plenty more land available for cultivation of crops around the world, and spoke of his institutes’s collaboration with EFSA in an attempt to make informed science-based decisions on matters such as pesticides regulation.
Pesticide legislation: a scientific viewpoint
Posted by Helen Dunnett on April 30, 2008 in European Regulation
Asked about their views on the revision of current legislation governing pesticides in Europe, the scientists who signed the Declaration of Ljubljana last week, had the following to say:
To view highlights from other interviews, scroll down this page to view other blog entries, or to view the full interviews visit our YouTube.com channel.
Conclusions from workshop on impact of pesticides legislation
Posted by Helen Dunnett on April 23, 2008 in European Regulation
Last night, I attended a press conference following a scientists’ workshop on the impact of the proposed revision of the EU’s pesticide legislation (Directive 91/414). Ian Denholm from the Rothamsted Research institute, presenting the workshop’s conclusions, pleaded to EU legislators to involve scientists in a thorough risk-based assessment of the proposed legislation, which he said has so far not been the case. View our video clip below to hear Ian’s remarks.
Other interviews from the event are being posted to our YouTube.com channel in the coming days.
Click here to read the scientists’ “Declaration of Ljubljana” in full or here to read a press release on the event from the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia.
1st Forum for the Future of Agriculture
Posted by Helen Dunnett on March 31, 2008 in Farming
European Landowners (ELO) joined forces with Syngenta last week (27 March) to host a forum on the future of European agriculture. With a great programme, not surprisingly the event was well attended by a diverse group of stakeholders. I was there too and for the first time with a video camera, trying to capture various viewpoints on the future of pesticides in European agriculture. I cornered a few brave people willing to talk to me however I will admit the video is fairly one-sided. I hadn’t anticipated it being quite so difficult to spot more of the right people! Anyway please accept my apologises and if you want to add your own insight on the event or on these interviews, either add a comment to this blog entry or get in contact with me. I would appreciate it.