This month marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021. Ensuring full and equal participation of women and girls in education and science is crucial to realising the potential of science as a means of improving the world. Gender equality and science have been identified by the UN as vital to achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
While things have improved significantly, but women and girls still face barriers to their full participation in science and education. Take this quiz to test your knowledge on women and girls in science.
Are you a woman interested in a career in plant science? Here’s a field guide to help you get started.
Believe it or not, plant science is not just about farming! Whether you are interested in engineering, or biology, there is a myriad of opportunities in the plant science industry for women. While women have always played a vital role in feeding the world, they can now do so in so many new fields, not just farming.
And there’s a real need for increased representation of women in plant science. The plant science industry is working hard to close the gender gap and increase opportunities for women to have equal access to technologies and plant science solutions; however, women from some countries and regions still face significant hurdles. While the majority of working women in developing countries rely on agriculture as their main form of income, only about a quarter of agricultural researchers in Africa are women—and of that quarter, only 14% hold leadership positions within their research teams.
Climate change, population growth and other factors present challenges to all farmers – but women often lack access to the technologies and innovations that can help them improve yields and increase incomes. Ensuring that women have access to tools and plant science innovations they need to succeed is key to promoting global food security and helping create a world with zero hunger
Encouraging and promoting opportunities for women in agriculture — be it through working on a farm or pursuing a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) concentration — ultimately helps to address global issues related to climate change, biodiversity and societal rights. The plant science industry is in a unique position to approach these issues with viable solutions — by addressing inequality within the industry, we can better work towards solving these global issues for good.
CropLife International encourages diversity and inclusion in the field of plant science. If you’ve ever thought about a future in the plant science industry, read through this helpful field guide to see what opportunities lie ahead.
GETTING STARTED
As you’re starting your career, a wide range of concentrations and opportunities are available to you. It’s important to think about what kind of job you want to do and which aspects of STEM interest you the most. Are you most interested in genetics? Perhaps a job as a biochemist or a biotechnologist would be best for you. If chemistry is your passion, then take a look at becoming a toxicologist. If you’ve always had a curiosity for insects or bugs, check out the life of an entomologist.
No matter what your passion, interests, location, even likes and dislikes may be, you are sure to find an opportunity in plant science just for you. There’s many different paths you can choose!
In fact, there is such an incredible amount of job diversity in agriculture, that you are not even limited to working directly with plants. If you like math and have a specific interest in finance or accounting, an agrifinance firm may be the right place to start your career. On the other hand, if the idea of working on a farm or in a field of crops sounds appealing to you, you can become an agroecologist and develop sustainable soil management practices, such as Soil Health Institute Chief Science Officer Dr. Cristine Morgan and Water Smart Agriculture Program Regional Technical Advisor Dr. Marie-Soleil Turmel. Careers in agriculture extend even beyond the STEM fields—rural sociology and agricultural communications are just two examples of even more opportunity in agriculture.
WORDS OF WISDOM
As you work to secure your dream job in agriculture or STEM, there may be some challenges or snags you hit along the way—do not let them discourage you! While the gender gap in agriculture remains, progress is being made year after year, and barriers are being broken down by ambitious and driven women in science – leading the way for those that may follow in their footsteps.
“While barriers remain, I believe the situation for women in science has improved over where it has been historically. Around the world, movements like the International Day of Women and Girls in Science help to highlight the gaps that remain, but more importantly, the achievements of women in STEM fields. These are important steps in the right direction.”
– Cari Carstens, Global Regulatory Lead – Seed Applied Technologies & Biologicals at Corteva Agriscience, United States
“One piece of advice I want to give to young women in agricultural science is to expand your interests. Take time to look around, read more and talk to more people. Even if you already have a specific area to focus on, having a broad knowledge-base and interests will allow you to innovate more through interaction.”
– Xi Chen, Group Leader at Syngenta Beijing Innovation Center, China
“I would advise young women today to obtain an education in the field of agriculture, and after graduating ask that they return to help develop agriculture in their home villages…I would like to form a Women’s Farmer Group. As women we must be food heroes, for the generations to come.”
“Women need to be better represented in agriculture. New solutions require diverse perspectives, different genders and different regional outlooks…Working with agriculture or food systems is an awesome opportunity for those interested in being part of the solution to deliver the global goals from plant breeding to data science and innovations! We need more diversity — we need more women.”
– Gabriela Burian, Sustainable Food Systems Lead for Bayer, United States
“The expectations of you and your role as a woman (and mother) in agriculture and industry, may be very different to how you feel and what you want to do in your life. Be brave, be smart, be energetic. Don´t hold back! And look for role models and mentors to inspire you during tough times. Networks help. And taking breaks to recharge your batteries.”
– Elke Duwenig, Senior Expert in Biotechnology, BASF, Germany
“As a teacher and farmer, I would encourage a young farmer to expand her own knowledge and seek out knowledgeable people who want to see her grow as a good steward of the land. Growing sustainable food is the most essential career in the world. Civilizations depend on us, so own this role with pride and integrity.”
“My biggest challenge was believing in myself and knowing I was qualified enough to take on the next challenge. Mentoring and role models have been key to overcoming these doubts, and they have enabled me to grow and now be in a position where I can do the same for young women in agriculture. I believe there is a need for more mentoring programs for women in agriculture.”
– Catherine Feuillet, Chief Science Officer, Inari Agriculture, United States
“Follow your interest, bring your passion and commitment to work and make your voice heard. Now is a fantastic time to get involved to shape the future of farming. Technologies are progressing at a significant pace and opportunities are endless. We need individuals with curiosity, creativity and the will to make a difference.”
– Jutta Boehmer, Head of Crop Protection Research Bioscience, Syngenta, United Kingdom
“This may sound simple, but one thing that took me many years to learn is that my voice and my ideas are important. To all women and men out there who are still finding their own voice – don’t be afraid to speak up and share your ideas. Chances are, you may also be speaking on behalf of someone else who hasn’t spoken up, and you may inspire them to raise their own voice the next time.”
– Laura Potter, Head of Analytics & Data Sciences, Syngenta, United States
“My advice is for them to educate themselves, to learn, and be very good at what they do. One important career differential is the ability to manage a business and people, but we cannot afford to lose our understanding of the differences between human beings: between men and women, youth and adults, the rich and the poor. We have to respect those differences and learn that everyone around us has something to add to our daily lives and to agriculture.”
“Agriculture needs young women to not only be part of the industry but to step up and lead. Young women can use social media to advocate for modern agriculture and share their perspectives with peers who want to know if their food is grown in a safe and sustainable manner.”
– Shannon Hauf, Senior Vice President and Head of Crop Technology for Soybeans, Bayer, United States
We’ve spoken with dozens of other Female #FoodHeroes who have given us great insight into being a woman in the plant science industry. If you don’t have time to read through these testimonials (and we encourage you to do so!) there are a couple key takeaways these inspirational women agree upon:
Be your own cheerleader
Find a mentor in the industry who can help you grow and navigate challenges
Support, encourage and advocate for women in your industry
Don’t lose sight of your initial ambition and goals
Seek out opportunities to learn new things
Your perspective is valuable – let it be heard!
LAUNCHING YOUR CAREER
Soon it will be time to tidy up your CV (curriculum vitae) and cover letter and start applying for your dream job. While you’re finalizing your application materials, consider where you might look to apply. Almost everywhere you look, there are support systems and opportunities available to help you on your path. FMC Corp., for example, has partnered with the Women’s Initiative Network to help support professional development opportunities for women in the company. Sumitomo offers resources from career support to childcare support to support working mothers. Corteva launched an internal platform called Common Ground to elevate the voices of women in agriculture and advocate for change.
Besides these companies’ career pages, you can review career sites like AgCareers.com to find a company or position that best suits you. If you’re considering a university (or are already in university!) in the U.S. think about getting involved in Annie’s Project or the Sigma Alpha professional agriculture sorority to grow your connections — and also meet new friends! Similar affinity groups are available in many countries globally. If you’ve already graduated, reach out to the Women, Food and Agriculture Network and see if there’s an upcoming virtual conference you can attend.
CONCLUSION
By bringing the best and brightest women to the forefront of the agriculture industry, we can not only make huge strides in achieving equality, but also work towards solving global challenges that threaten our very existence. Food insecurity, biodiversity and even climate change can be better addressed and mitigated if we encourage more diversity in plant science. Through resources like this, we at CropLife International hope we can help jumpstart successful careers for brilliant, ambitious women all over.
Pandemic Reminds Us: Role of Regional Growers More Critical Than Ever
Singapore, 10 February 2021 – With people in Asia and around the world set to celebrate Lunar New Year, CropLife Asia called for greater appreciation of regional growers and their critical contributions to food production – helping ensure food security across Asia and making available many of the ingredients to dishes enjoyed during this festive time of year.
“Lunar New Year is a time when we reflect, spend more time with friends and family, and enjoy the delicious foods of the season,” said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, CropLife Asia Executive Director. “In the midst of the ongoing global pandemic, it all takes on greater meaning. The time spent with loved ones and eating the foods we savour will be that much more enjoyable and memorable.
“In the midst of this year’s gatherings, I hope we can also take time to think of and thank our farmer heroes. The men and women we depend on for the food we eat during this holiday and throughout the year have been hit hard by COVID-19. They drive food security for Asia in the midst of a growing number of challenges and obstacles. Asia’s farmers earn our respect and appreciation every day, and we owe them our gratitude.”
Farmers across Asia help make Lunar New Year celebrations more festive, nutritious and delicious by producing the various foods that are served during the holiday season. In China and across Asia, mandarin oranges are a staple that can be found on tables and given as gifts. In Vietnam, xoi (sticky rice) is synonymous with Tet celebrations. Meanwhile, tteokguk (rice cake soup) is a popular dish enjoyed by many in Korea; while tikoy (sticky rice treat) is a delicacy prepared by many of those celebrating in the Philippines.
The past year has been an unprecedented time for everyone; this has been particularly true for farmers in our region. Asia is home to the smallest-sized farms and the largest number of smallholder farmers globally. The pandemic has only exacerbated a challenging landscape for these smallholders – one that includes mitigating the devasting impacts of locusts, the Fall Armyworm invasive pest and climate change. Despite these challenges, regional farmers continue to grow the safe and nutritious foods on which we depend and help ensure food security for a growing Asia and world. Plant science continues to play a critical role in enabling farmers on this front. Biotech crops have been developed with improved traits such as increased yield, better resistance to pests and/or improved nutrition, among others. These traits are crucial tools that help farmers meet global challenges such as food insecurity. Meanwhile, farmers continue to rely on crop protection products to produce more food on less land and raise productivity per hectare. Without crop protection products, 40 percent of global rice and maize harvests could be lost every year and losses for fruits and vegetables could be as high as 50-90 percent.
About CropLife Asia
CropLife Asia is a non-profit society and the regional organization of CropLife International, the voice of the global plant science industry. We advocate a safe, secure food supply, and our vision is food security enabled by innovative agriculture. CropLife Asia supports the work of 15 member associations across the continent and is led by six member companies at the forefront of crop protection, seeds and/or biotechnology research and development. For more information, visit us at www.croplifeasia.org.
For more information please contact:
Duke Hipp
Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Partnerships
CropLife Asia
Tel. (65) 6221 1615
duke.hipp@croplifeasia.org
On Nov 16 – 20, 2020, CropLife Asia, CropLife Philippines and the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines held the 14th Pan-Asia Farmers Exchange Program virtually as a one-week webinar series via Zoom platform.
Participants from the US and the Asia-Pacific – Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Pakistan joined the webinar series.
On Nov 16, Dr. Rhodora Aldemita, the Director, of ISAAA Southeast Asia Center and Director of the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology – International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), gave an overview of modern biotechnology.
Dr. Russell Reinke, Theme Leader of the Improving Health Through Safe and Nutritionally Enhanced Rice Program at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), shared the Golden Rice Experience.
And Dr. Szabolcs Ruthner, Regulatory Affairs Manager of the International Seed Federation (ISF), presented a quick overview of new plant breeding innovations.
The session was opened by Dr. Sianghee Tan, Executive Director of CropLife Asia and moderated by Ms. Sonny Tababa, Biotechnology Affairs Director of CropLife Asia.
Below is the recorded video of the 1st day of the program.
On Nov 17, Dr. Saturnina C. Halos, President of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP), discussed biosafety regulations, including environmental risk assessment and food safety assessment.
Dr. Gabriel Romero, Executive Director of the Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA) and Ms. Rosemary Richards, President of the Australian Oilseeds Federation, shared the road to commercialization of each of their very own country’s cultivated GM crop. Dr. Romero discussed about Bt Corn in the Philippines, and Ms. Richards talked about GM Canola in Australia.
The session was moderated by Mr. Abraham Manalo, the Executive Secretary of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP).
Below is the recorded session of the 2nd day of the program.
On Nov 18, the session was all about Science Communication.
Ms. Ma. Aileen Garcia, Manager, Project Coordination and Stakeholder Advocacy of the Healthier Rice Program at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), gave an overview on science communication.
Dr. Xiaoqing Liu, Associate Research Fellow of the Biotechnology Research Institute at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Mr. Anil Ghanwat, President of the Shetkari Sangathan (farmer association) in India; Ms. Annalyn Lopez, Director-Coordinator of the Biotechnology Program at the Philippine Department of Agriculture; and Ms. Ta Thi Kieu Anh from the Biodiversity Conservation Agency at the Vietnam Environment Administration shared their experiences in communicating biotechnology in their respective countries.
This session was moderated by Dr. Rhodora Aldemita, Director, ISAAA Southeast Asia Center; Director, Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
Below is the recorded video of the 3rd day of the program.
On Nov 19, farmers from different countries shared their experiences in commercially growing GM crops.
Ms Belinda ‘Bindi’ Murray, a dryland broadacre farmer from Woodanilling in the Great Southern Western Australia talked about how they grow GM Canola.
Mr. Tulus Panduwijaya, the director at Pt. Perkebunan Nusantara XI, a government-owned estate whose main business activity is the production of sugar, and Mr. Alex Suherman, the Biotech and Seeds Director of CropLife Indonesia took us on a virtual tour and learned about Indonesia’s GM Sugarcane.
Mr Juanito Rama, a successful Bt corn farmer from Tarlac, Philippines, shared how Bt corn has improved and made their lives better. Moreover, Bt corn farmers from Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Thanh Phong from Nghe An Province, Mr Hoang Van Tuyen from Son La Province, and Mr Hoang Trong Ngai from Vinh Phuc Province also shared their experiences in growing Bt corn.
On the other hand, Mr. Amir Hayyat Bhandara, a corn, cotton & wheat farmer in Pakpattan, Pakistan, shared his views and expressed how Pakistan farmers need to have access to this technology, to these GM crops.
This session was moderated by Ms. Ma Emeru B. Rodriguez, Seeds Committee Vice Chairperson of CropLife Philippines.
Below is the recorded session of the 4th day of the program.
On Nov 20, the main focus was Crop Improvement and Seed Quality.
Ms. Hannah Mae Tolentino, together with her colleagues in the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Ms. Ronalyn Miranda and Mr. Malvin Duldulao, gave a virtual tour of the PhilRice Biotech Laboratories and PhilRice Genebank.
And Dr. Antonio Alfonso, the Regulatory and Stewardship Manager of Corteva Agriscience in the Philippines, showed how the industry keeps the good quality of seeds before it is released for farmers use.
This session was moderated by Ms. Thelma Soriano, Seeds Director of CropLife Asia, and was concluded by Mr. Edilberto de Luna, Executive Director of CropLife Philippines.
Below is the video of the 5th and last day of the 14th Pan-Asia Farmers Exchange Program.
On November 26, the new installation of the Farmer Forum Webinar series was launched and it was focused on the challenges faced by women farmers in the wake of COVID-19. The topics explored labor shortages, transport and market access. In this webinar, we will learn that in different countries, there are also unique challenges that farmers face during these times. Let us all learn from our women farmers and listen to what they have to say:
Panelists include:
Ms. Henny Mapatangka – Mainstay Fisherman Farmers Group, Indonesia
Ms. Madhuri Ghosh – Mahila Bikash Cooperative Credit Society, India
It’s been 50 years since Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to global food security. Over the last half-century, agriculture has leveraged science and innovation to continue the Green Revolution that Dr. Borlaug started to help grow rural communities and agricultural economies, and sustainably feed our population. This year’s recognition of the World Food Programme for the Nobel Peace Prize shows us that there is still much work to be done to achieve Zero Hunger. Farmers globally are challenged with sustainably growing safe and nutritious foods while adjusting to climate change conditions and working to preserve biodiversity and the environment.
Agriculture is moving beyond just improving food security and can significantly help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A new generation of agriculturalists, environmentalists, and changemakers will help shape how agriculture will intersect with not just climate change, biodiversity, and livelihoods, but also social rights including how agriculture can improve equity and access.
The 2020 World Food Prize and International Borlaug Dialogue is taking place in 2020 from October 12 – 16. This year’s theme is “Breaking New Ground: Building Resilience Today for Improved Global Food Systems Tomorrow.”
CropLife International organized a virtual side event to recognize the achievements of Dr. Norman Borlaug and his impact of farming today, with a panel discussing the journey agriculture will take in the next 50 years. Featuring a welcome from CropLife International President and CEO Giulia Di Tommaso, the panel was moderated by Christine Gould, founder and CEO of Thought For Food and member of the Advisory Committee for the UN Food Systems Summit. Panelists included Michael Doane, Global Managing Director for Sustainable Food and Water at The Nature Conservancy, and Cassia Moraes, Founder and CEO of Youth Climate Leaders.
Don’t have time to watch the full event? Please see a summary below of the panelists’ contributions; their respective fireside chats have also been pulled out into separate videos.
Conservation & Sustainable Agriculture: A Discussion with Michael Doane Creating a balanced, sustainable relationship with nature is critical for feeding a growing global population today and for future generations. Finding that balance is no easy task, but Michael Doane has spent his career working to ensure agriculture can thrive through a sustainable lens.
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to conserve the land and water that sustains all life on our planet. Michael’s role with The Nature Conservancy is to find ways to scale up conservation outcomes across productively managed farming, ranching and agroforestry landscapes.
CropLife International invited Michael to participate in a virtual fireside chat moderated by Christine Gould. In this interview, Michael highlights that a sustainable relationship with agriculture and nature is not only completely possible, it’s become more mainstream through the adoption of “regenerative agriculture.”
While there is certainly a long way to go, the spark to jumpstart a sustainable restoration agenda exists and is ready to ignite. Watch Michael recount his experiences in advocating for sustainability and share his thoughts on the impact of Dr. Norman Borlaug and the Green Revolution:
Youth Fighting Climate Change: A Discussion with Cassia Moraes In order to meet our goals in implementing sustainable agricultural practices and mitigating the effects of climate change, we need a grassroots movement. Cassia Moraes’ job is to connect and mobilize youth to grow that movement to fuel progress toward a more sustainable future. Cassia Moraes founded Youth Climate Leaders, a global youth leadership network dedicated to connecting and organizing youth to fight climate change. Inspired by Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Cassia has dedicated the better part of the last decade to finding innovative ways to fight climate change.
Cassia sat down with Christine Gould to talk about what the Youth Climate Leaders organization does, how Cassia empowers young people to become climate leaders, and what the plant science industry can to do curb the effects of climate change.
Cassia emphasizes that even though the issue of climate change may seem daunting and overwhelming, anyone can make a difference on the individual level to help mitigate its effects — and this growing movement is cause for optimism. Watch Cassia recount her experiences in advocating for sustainability and share her thoughts on the impact of Dr. Borlaug and the Green Revolution:
Farming Perspectives: Looking to the Future The side event was organized in partnership with the Global Farmer Network (GFN) and featured a short video interview with two young farmers who work with the Global Farmer Network: Ruramiso Mashumba, Farmer in Marondera, Zimbabwe and Diego Guigou, Agronomist in Dolores, Uruguay. They spoke about the major challenges facing food and feed production today, and what steps can be taken to ensure agriculture continues to flourish in the future.
Click here to read the full interviews with Ruramiso and Diego.
CropLife Asia Makes Appeal to Region’s Food Supply Stakeholders with kickoff of FAO APAC Meetings
Singapore, 1 September 2020 – As the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) convened virtually to begin its Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, CropLife Asia took the opportunity to raise the growing threat posed by a number of factors to the region’s food supply and the critical need for shared, sustainable solutions driven by stakeholder collaboration across the food value chain.
“Our regional supply of safe and nutritious food is being threatened like never before,” said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, CropLife Asia Executive Director. “These unprecedented times call for an unprecedented response – including strong partnership among the region’s food supply stakeholders.
“In the fields, regional farmers are contending with limited natural resources, increasingly erratic weather, and a greater number of weeds, diseases and pests with which to contend. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has only added to the pressure on our regional growers as well as the larger food supply chain.
“The meetings this week are a great opportunity to bring our regional food supply stakeholders closer together in delivering shared solutions. It’s critical that we use this opportunity to drive more impactful partnership across the food supply chain and meet the challenges posed by the gathering food security storm we face in Asia.”
Earlier this year, the UN’s 2020 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World concluded that almost 690 million globally went hungry in 2019. The research also indicated that Asia is home to the greatest number of undernourished people.
In another policy brief released by the UN recently, The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition, serious concerns were also raised regarding the effect COVID-19 is having globally on the most vulnerable parts of society already experiencing hunger and malnutrition.
Plant science continues to play a crucial role in helping feed our growing global population. Biotech crops are developed with improved traits such as increased yield, better resistance to pests and/or improved nutrition, among others. These traits are important tools that enable farmers to meet global challenges such as food insecurity. Meanwhile, farmers continue to rely on crop protection products to produce more food on less land and raise productivity per hectare. Without crop protection products, 40 percent of global rice and maize harvests could be lost every year and losses for fruits and vegetables could be as high as 50-90 percent.
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About CropLife Asia
CropLife Asia is a non-profit society and the regional organization of CropLife International, the voice of the global plant science industry. We advocate a safe, secure food supply, and our vision is food security enabled by innovative agriculture. CropLife Asia supports the work of 15 member associations across the continent and is led by six member companies at the forefront of crop protection, seeds and/or biotechnology research and development. For more information, visit us at www.croplifeasia.org.
We expect supermarket shelves to be filled year-round with a variety of fresh produce. Society is adjusting to living under measures that mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and this new normal can make us pause to reflect on where our food comes from, and celebrate those that ensure food supplies are maintained.
This episode focuses on the humble potato, or ‘spud’ as the British commonly call it, favored by chefs around the world for its versatility in cooking, and long chosen by farmers for its nutrient-dense, high-yielding value.
52 million tons of potatoes were harvested across the EU alone in 2018, but even with a crop that is so widely consumed in many different ways, there’s an increasing disconnect between the knowledge of how food is grown and how it gets to our plates.
Therefore, as an industry that helps farmers grow crops, the crop protection sector is committed to closing this gap.
Sorted Food’s Ben Ebbrell (a chef) and Mike Huttlestone (a ‘normal’) battle it out to see who can create the best tasting potato dish, incorporating some of the facts they learn about this starchy tuber.
Together with an audience of passionate and engaged food enthusiasts, they take us on a journey to understand more about how the food we eat is grown and what they discover might surprise you!
They first invited food historian Angela Clutton to the Sorted studio kitchen to discover more about this important food staple: from its origins in the high Andes, being viewed with suspicion in 16th Century France, to becoming an indispensable crop for the working class in the 19th Century.
When potato blight – a kind of mold – struck over successive years in the 19th century, it led to the infamous Irish Potato Famine between 1845 and 1849. This disaster contributed to more than one million deaths in Ireland alone and during the same time, blight also affected crops across many parts of Europe.
Disease continues to be a threat to potato crops to this day. Without crop protection methods, up to 40% of European crop yields could be lost each year and farmers are committed to producing food in challenging times and conditions.
To see this for themselves first-hand, Ben and Mike traveled to the Dutch-Belgian border near Eindhoven to visit a third-generation potato farmer whose family has been growing potatoes for more than 50 years. His harvest almost entirely goes to feed Europe’s French fry hungry consumers supplying, amongst others, brands like McDonalds.
Jacob Van Den Borne explains that his method of precision agriculture and attention to detail is something that each generation on his farm has applied. The only difference is the tools they use. Jacob has been called the Elon Musk of potatoes – this means the tools he uses are super innovative, and he takes advantage of digital advances to reduce his inputs, improve his yields and protect the environment.
Yet, despite having access to sophisticated technology tools and monitoring systems that generate data about his crops, he regularly walks around his fields and remains at the mercy of the climate and diseases – just as the generations of farmers did before him.
For example, during the extraordinary European heatwave in 2018 – maxing out at a record 42°C (107,6°F) for the Netherlands – Jacob lost almost half his yields, meaning he had to adapt and invest heavily in irrigation techniques to make sure that losses would not be as severe in following years.
Whether it is through water soil moisture monitoring, or using models to predict the spread of blight, learning about how best to protect the crop is essential to producing enough affordable, safe and high-quality food in challenging conditions.
“We use a lot of software platforms that tell us when to spray; those platforms get weather information and know in which kind of weather fungi can attack my plants. We aren’t only spraying the crops just before such an attack can happen. The software tells us when and how, and with what to spray” Jacob says.
“Sustainability is the key to what we’re doing. One thing that a lot of people forget is that we have to pay for all the chemicals we use. So, the less we put on, the better it is for us. We only use chemicals when they are absolutely necessary. Why put them on when they’re not needed? That’s how all farmers are trying to survive, also to ensure we have low food prices – every bit of money counts. Being sustainable is also about being affordable and therefore me lowering my cost price.
As farmers, we have the job of protecting future – because the population is growing fast and food demand is growing with that. If we don’t gear up, we won’t be able to work to feed the world”.
CropLife International and ECPA member organizations work to help farmers protect their crops from pests and diseases so we have safe and nutritious foods to eat.
Those methods range from the precise application of fungicides, pesticides and herbicides – including those of natural origin – to innovative biotech solutions that make crops more resistant to disease like blight.
Watch these behind-the-scenes video clips from Ben and Mike’s chats with Angela and Jacob, to find out more about where potatoes originated and how this nutritious crop with the potential to feed everyone across the globe, is protected to ensure it makes the journey to your table, Belgian frites (French fries) stand or favorite burger restaurant.
Reducing food waste can have a huge impact on food security and climate change. So, where do we start? It’s all about working together. By gaining a deeper understanding of the care, commitment, and hard work that gets food from the field to our forks, we can hopefully start to waste less of the food we buy.
In partnership with the European Crop Protection Association, we sent Ben and Mike from SORTEDfood on a journey to dig into the history of the potato to find out where it came from and how farmers use smart technology to produce the hearty spud on a global level. Along the way, they meet Angela Clutton, a food writer and historian, and Jacob Van Den Borne, a Dutch potato farmer. Going behind the scenes at his farm, they learned how he uses technology to grow his potatoes more sustainably to reduce any food loss on the farm.
Ever wondered what you can make from those leftover potatoes in your kitchen so they don’t go to waste? If anyone can tell you, it’s SORTED. Ben and Mike went head-to-head in the Ultimate Potato Battle, but who made the better dish? Let’s find out!
Want to have a go?
Grab Ben’s recipe for Spiralised Potato and Blood Sausage Croquettes on Potato Soup here.
Grab Mike’s recipe for Fondant Dripping Potatoes with Horseradish Pommes Purée here.
You can also watch behind-the-scenes video clips from Ben and Mike’s chats with Angela and Jacob, to find out more about where potatoes originated and how this nutritious crop is protected to ensure it makes the journey to your table.
The amount of food lost or wasted every year presents countless problems for society, such as threatening food insecurity, and recent events have highlighted how serious this can get.
But what do we mean by ‘lost’ and ‘wasted’, how exactly can it increase the risk of food insecurity, and how can plant science help reduce food loss and waste?
