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.
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Comments(1)Latest study concludes that food prices will increase with revision of pesticides legislation
Posted by Helen Dunnett on October 21, 2008 in European Regulation, Food & health
Last week we attended a press briefing in Brussels for the launch of a new impact study that looks at the possible price increases on agricultural markets in Europe if current revisions of the regulation governing pesticides (Directive 91/414) are approved. The study was produced by EuroCARE BONN, the European Centre for Agricultural, Regional and Environmental Policy Research, and was commissioned by ECPA (disclaimer: sponsor of Pesticide Information). At the event, I had an opportunity to speak to two of the panelists:
- Séan Rickard, Senior Lecturer in Business Economics from the Cranfield University School of Management, who wrote What price protection? An Economic Assessment of the Impact of Proposed Restrictions. He gave me his views on the derogation which gives a 5-year exemption on irreplaceable crop protection products and on food availability more broadly.
- Dr. Marcel Adenauer from EuroCARE Bonn and the University of Bonn, who headed the panel. Marcel talked about the possible effects on the price of fruit (the EuroCare report focuses on wheat and potatoes), the effects of price increases on the European economy as a whole, and the prospect of Europe giving up its primacy in food production.
For background information on this legislation visit EurActiv.
Scientists comment on current food prices and yields
Posted by Helen Dunnett on April 28, 2008 in European Regulation, Farming, Food & health
Here are some more clips from interviews recorded at the scientific workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia, last week (see other blog entries below). Dr Ian Denholm, Rothamsted Research, UK, speaks about the need for radical steps to meet the growing demand for food in Europe, and Lise Nistrup from Aarhus Universitet, Denmark, outlines the effects of pesticides on crop yields.
The full interviews and other material are available on our YouTube.com channel.