Our contribution to zero hunger

Transcription

1 Our contribution to zero hunger Prof. dr. Jack van der Vorst Member Board of Directors Wageningen University & Research General director Social Sciences Group Professor in AgriFood Supply Chain Management

2 Menu Introducing Wageningen University & Research Challenges and key developments Our contribution to zero hunger To conclude 2

3 Wageningen University & Research two partners: fundamental knowledge and applied research 3

4 Wageningen University & Research Center 5,800 employees (5,100 fte) >12,000 students (>125 countries) > 30 locations in NL, China, Chile, Ethiopia & Saudi Arabia Turnover Wageningen UR about 650 million Our Mission: To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life

5 Wageningen University & Research Wageningen University & Research Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Group Animal Sciences Group Environmental Sciences Group Plant Sciences Group Social Sciences Group Wageningen University Wageningen International Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Plant Sciences Social sciences Wageningen Academy Wageningen Food & Biobased Research Wageningen Livestock Research Wageningen Research (DLO) Wageningen Environmental Research Wageningen Plant Research Wageningen Economic Research Wageningen Marine Research Wageningen Bioveterinary Research Centre for Development Innovation RIKILT 5

6 History of Wageningen University & Research 1876/1877 start national agricultural education and national agricultural research stations 1938/1940 founding DLO institutes / Agricultural Economic Institute (LEI) Since 2000 concentration of institutes on Wageningen Campus March 9th 1918 National Agricultural College/Wageningen University was founded 1998 Wageningen UR: merger of Wageningen University and applied research organisations September 2016 one brand: Wageningen University & Research March 9th 2018 Centennial 100 YEARS 6

7 Wageningen worldwide 7

8 WUR domain: healthy food and living environment Sustainable agriculture Nutrition and health Sustainable fishery Biobased economy Chains Food, feed and biobased production Healthy people and society Natural resources and living environment Behaviour and perception Food security Institutions Consumer Citizen Marine resource management Landscape and land use Nature & Biodiversity Water management Competing claims

9 WUR contributions over the past century with a wide range of tools, technologies & food products. Developing new instruments According to the World Meteorological Organization, the pyranometer is the best instrument for measuring global solar radiation. Professor of Physics and Meteorology D. van Gulik developed the pyranometer in the late 1920s. 9

10 WUR contributions over the past century with a wide range of tools, technologies & food products. Breeding new improved varieties The Elstar is the most popular apple in the Netherlands, accounting for 41% of its apple orchards in Developed by Arie Schaap in

11 WUR contributions over the past century with a wide range of tools, technologies & food products. Prof. Blaauw discovered in 1918 that you could delay flowering of tulps by six months if you reversed the order, first warming up the bulbs and then cooling them. And that makes them suitable for export to the southern hemisphere. By doing this, he laid the foundations for the global export of tulip bulbs Prof. Richard Immink received a grant of one and a half million euros from NWO in February He will research in what way plants pick up signals from nature to start processes such as flowering. 11

12 WUR contributions over the past century with a wide range of tools, technologies & food products. Irrigated Rice in Bangladesh Potential yield

13 Menu Introducing Wageningen University & Research Challenges and key developments Our contribution to zero hunger To conclude 13

14 Key developments in agriculture case: Dutch dairy sector gradual introduction milking machines and tractors (Marshall plan) on mostly mixed farms Fast increase milk production by rapid adoption new technology milking machine, cubicle housing, milk tank, cornsilage - and specialisation Production limits - focus on quality and labour productivity. New breeding technologies, automatic milking now Focus on entrepreneurship, agri as business, stronger and broader focus on sustainability, market and society driven. Introduction IT and data technology Government supported building up applied research and extension Research focus on technology and product quality EU policy and subsidies stimulate rapid adoption Research still mainly government driven, increasing focus on environmental and societal impact Introduction EU and national environmental regulations Research more in public private partnerships. Broadening scope of research: consumer, nature, sustainability, biobased etc. 14

15 Less farms - increase in total milk production

16 Global challenges Climate change Food security Agro-food Biodiversity Health and nutrition Biobased Economy

17 The challenge: two times More Less Better Healthy food and nutrition for 9 billion people in 2050 within the carrying capacity of our planet

18 Resource use efficiency is increasing 300 Kg fresh product per m 3 water 250 tomato sweet pepper > 20 times > 2 times > 3-5 times 0 Israel & Spain, field Spain, unheated plastic "parral" Israel, unheated glass growing system Spain, unheated "parral", regulated ventilation Holland, climatecontrolled glass, CO2 2 enrichment Holland, as at left, with re-use of drain water Dutch "closed" greenhouse increasing control of production factors

19 Varying agricultural labour productivity Due to: - Limited input complementarities - Scarce irrigation - Low education - No credit access - Little extension services - High risks

20 Health challenges & Disease burden Infectious diseases outbreaks ( ) Agricultural Policies become Food (and Health) Policies

21 The Wageningen approach Multidisciplinary approach: open connections between natural science and social science disciplines Collaboration university and market oriented research institutes Close collaboration between government, businesses, research institutes and other universities Govern ment Business Science

22 Strategic themes A global one health: better health for people, animals and plants Resource use efficiency: more sustainable and efficient production and consumption systems Resilience: research on resilience of ecosystems and economic and social systems Metropolitan solutions: research regarding sustainability and quality of life in cities Synthetic biology: development of new biologic systems 22

23 Working on SDGs 23

24 Menu Introducing Wageningen University & Research Challenges and key developments Our contribution to zero hunger To conclude 24

25 Zero hunger: towards nutritious and safe food for all 25

26 Zero hunger: towards nutritious and safe food for all 26

27 Availability: impact research contribution to decreasing poverty and improving food security Evaluation of a Farmer Field School pilot in the tea sector in Kenya The Kenya Tea Development Agency decided to upscale the FFS in all their factories (500,000 smallholders) 27

28 Zero Hunger: Food Systems drive Food Access 2.0 Climate change - volatility Upgraded supply chains, supermarkets 28 Convenience food

29 Zero Hunger: Utilisation - Healthy eating in relation to the food choice environment Snoek, Reinders, Zimmermann, 2010

30 Why Personalised Nutrition & Health? Digitalization can make it happen now The smartphone is everything Growing market for wearables Do it yourself health measurements possible Availability of and possibilities with (big) data Consumers are open to personalised feedback Information on food on digital media is enormous

31 Agri-Food Supply Chain Networks law & regulation horizontal fulfillment innovation Climate smart agriculture geographic cluster Smart supply chains Healthy and personalised food Vertical

32 Future WUR contributions Richard Finkers: Big Data is going to play a big role in improving varieties Breed crops so that they produce a stable higher yield with less artificial fertilizer on poor soils. 32

33 Future WUR contributions Prof. René Smulders: Thanks to CRISPR-Cas, the use of pesticides will drop drastically CRISPR-Cas is a new way of changing DNA. This revolutionary technique is not a substitute for classic plant breeding, but an important addition that can give breeding a big boost. 33

34 Future WUR contributions Prof. René Klein Lankhorst: More efficient plants can feed the world Photosynthesis is the most important process on earth. But the photosynthesis efficiency of many agricultural crops is very low. If we could double the photosynthesis efficiency of agricultural crops, we could produce enough to feed the growing world population. 34

35 Future WUR contributions Prof. Atze Jan van der Goot: Plant meat will conquer the world We have succeeded in introducing fibrous structures into plant proteins using relatively simple technology, enabling us to make large pieces of plant meat with a texture that is very like that of real meat. Our technology is making a substantial contribution to sustainable eating patterns because real meat has a negative impact on the environment. 35

36 Menu Introducing Wageningen University & Research Challenges and key developments Our contribution to zero hunger To conclude 36

37 Technological Role of scientific innovations...science for impact... Leap Incremental Socio-economic Leap

38 Next steps: transdisciplinarity Society...Science for impact... Government Entrepreneurs Innovation platforms Science

39 Thank you for your attention To explore the potential of nature, to improve the quality of life

40