News archive - European Innovation Partnerships (EIP): Debate on food security and climate change
A recent debate in Brussels addressed the growing challenges of food security and climate change, focussing in particular on how they can be addressed through research and innovation in Europe.
The event was hosted by Giles Chichester in conjunction with the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO). Speakers included Maire Geoghegan Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, who situated the debate in the context of current preparations for a number of European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs). Each will focus on a specific ‘societal challenge’, with food security and climate change two of the most significant of these.
The Commissioner also highlighted the importance of leveraging private sector investment, in this case from the biotechnology industry. In his speech Shivaji Pandey, of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, pointed to research and training programmes, together with efficient extension services, as essential investments for dealing with the headline challenges. A third speaker, Jonathan Jones of Sainsbury Laboratory, emphasised that maintaining yield, quality and sustainability of crops was the major challenge ahead. All agreed that European scientific and economic success would be vital in meeting the global challenge of providing healthy and sufficient
food in a sustainable way.
Full details, including a report, are available form the European Plant Science Organisation’s web page on the event: http://www.epsoweb.org/epso-european-parliament-dinner-debate-food-securityand-
climate-change
Source: ukro
- International; Other
Entry created by Elke Dall on January 31, 2011
Modified on January 31, 2011
