Agricultural land is an increasingly scarce resource: Climate change, land degradation, and water shortages threaten soil fertility and with it the foundation of agriculture. The challenge: satisfying the growing demand for agricultural commodities while maintaining environmental integrity.
Solutions and technologies for sustainable and efficient use of soil resources abound - but implementing these at scale is a tremendous task. And while preserving existing acres is worth every effort, reclaiming fallow land provides opportunities and challenges as well. On the way to optimized soil management, incentives are needed for the use of adapted technologies – in order to achieve an increase in agricultural production on conserved soil with reduced emissions and minimized environmental impact.
High-level representatives from business, politics, and science will discuss the most important challenges for the sustainable use of soil resources, focusing on Russia and China as two global players in agriculture:
- What are pressing future tasks for the agricultural sector with regard to sustainable land use?
- How can state policies contribute to sustainable land use?
- Which role can technological progress play and how can it be incentivized?
Programme
Greeting
Dr. Ophelia Nick, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture
Panel Guests
Prof. Dr. Pavel Krasilnikov, Dean Department of Soil Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Dr. Bin Zhang, Chief Scientist, Soil Health Care Group, IARRP, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)
Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz, Director Department for Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Cornelia Horsch, Managing Director, HORSCH Maschinen GmbH
Torsten Spill, Chief Representative, German Seed Alliance GmbH
Moderator
Julia Harnal, Chairperson German Agribusiness Alliance & Vice President Public Affairs Agricultural Solutions, BASF SE
The GFFA panel discussion will take place in cooperation with the German Eastern Business Association and the Deutsch-Russischer Agrarpolitischer Dialog.
Simultaneous interpretation in German and English language will be provided. The livestream takes place via the website: www.gffa-berlin.de/en. Registration is not required. If you want to join in the discussion and vote, please register here: https://2022.gffa-berlin.de/#signup.html?. The expert panel will be followed by a “deep dive” from 9:00 to 9:30 am (CET).
14th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA)
“Sustainable land use: Food security starts with the soil”
24 - 28 January 2022 ǀ Live stream: www.gffa-berlin.de/en
