Companies, governments and researchers are cooperating in order to accelerate innovation in the agricultural sector, with the aim of designing climate-resilient solutions.
Upon the release of the 2021 Special Report on Drought, Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations for Disaster Risk Reduction, warned that, if not addressed, drought will be “the next pandemic.” The ability to design climate resilient cultivations, capable of surviving increasingly hot and arid conditions, will be a key strategy in guaranteeing the production of enough food for the growing world population.
Companies are investing in this field, accelerating breakthroughs. Nestlé scientists have developed new varieties of low-carbon emission coffee plants that are drought resistant, with the aim of reducing the ecological imprint of the sector, furthermore allowing farmers from regions particularly affected by climate change to remain active.
Bangladeshi farmers have developed a new variety of rice, called Charulata, which is capable of tolerating salty soil and stagnation caused by the growing shrimp farming industry.
In the same way, in the United Kingdom, Innovative Farmers has collaborated with the Organic Research Centre (ORC) to develop new disease-resistant hop varieties that require a reduced use of agrochemical products.
Possible course of action:
cooperate with scientific labs, researchers and biologists to stimulate innovation in the sector and, in so doing, prompting the production of climate-resilient ingredients, materials and fabrics.
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