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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
On 17 January 2025, experts at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin discussed "Bioeconomy and global food security - Challenges from an international perspective". The event was organised by IAMO and the German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA).
Bioeconomy is based on the sustainable utilisation, production, processing and marketing of natural resources and promotes ecological and economic sustainability. At the event in Berlin, the international panellists from politics, business and research focused on the experience gained so far in the application of bioeconomic principles, the role of modern technologies today and tomorrow as well as how bioeconomy can be further fostered in the future.
In the opening speech of the expert panel, Claudia Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), declared that bioeconomy is a necessity for sustainability and the fight against hunger in view of the climate and biodiversity crisis and praised the GFFA as a platform for dialogue between specialists.
The panel was scientifically accompanied by IAMO researcher Frans Hermans. In his keynote speech, he pointed out that bioeconomic goals cannot be achieved through innovation alone, for example in the form of biotechnologies, but that experiential knowledge also plays an important role. In addition, he recommended promoting bioeconomy clusters for the exchange of knowledge and cooperation between the sectors involved from agriculture, companies, politics and science.
During the panel discussion, Vitalyi Koval, Minister of Agricultural Policy and Nutrition of Ukraine, gave an update on the state of Ukrainian agriculture in the face of Russia's war of aggression. He noted that food security is a top priority and that Ukraine is also fulfilling its international responsibilities by continuing to export agricultural products. The importance of bioeconomy for the future as well as Ukraine's potential to rebuild the agricultural sector according to bioeconomic principles was also emphasised by Vitalyi Koval.
Kazakhstan also wants to fulfil its role in global food security, increase exports and, for example, expand organic farming, explained Yermek Kenzhekhanuly, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan. He added that new technologies, such as the use of lasers in the cultivation of vegetables and cotton for water-saving drip irrigation, are of importance in this regard.
Business representatives Maryna Kovalova, Head of Marketing at the SmartFarming Group in Ukraine, and Oliver Gierlichs, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer at Bayer Ltd. Ukraine, both underlined the potential of innovations and new technologies to increase efficiency in agriculture. Although Maryna Kovalova pointed out that the bioeconomy is something new in Ukrainian agriculture and that digitalisation has not yet been introduced across the board, she simultaneously undermined the fact that digital technologies in particular offer many opportunities. For example, Maryna Kovalova indicated that drones and satellite images could provide data that would make fertilisation and irrigation more efficient. Oliver Gierlichs argued that innovations make it possible to optimise the use of resources, for example through the use of waste products and more biologically compatible pesticides and fertilisers. Although he sees Ukrainian agriculture facing major challenges, he stressed the great potential for the production of biofuel on fields contaminated by the war, which cannot be used for the production of food or feed at this stage.
The expert panel, which was moderated by Dirk Stratmann, country spokesperson for Ukraine/Central Asia at the GAA, revealed that the speakers agree that the bioeconomy is the key to ecological and economic sustainability and to achieving global food security.
About GFFA
The 17th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) entitled “Farming a Sustainable Bioeconomy” will be held from 15 to 18 January 2025 in Berlin, Germany. The GFFA is an international conference on agri-food policy issues. It is organised by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in cooperation with the Messe Berlin GmbH. General information on the GFFA 2025 can be found on the conference website: www.gffa-berlin.de/en.
https://www.iamo.de/en/press/press-releases/article/podiumsgaeste-auf-dem-gffa-s...
Panelists at the GFFA in Berlin
Photo: Lars Hübner
© IAMO/GAA
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Panelists at the GFFA in Berlin
Photo: Lars Hübner
© IAMO/GAA
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