Forum for the future of agriculture: solution events

The annual conference of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture takes place every spring in Brussels and most recently online. The purpose of the Forum is to stimulate open discussions on the future of European and world agriculture and assess what should and what can be achieved over time, attaching equal weight to two challenges: food security and environmental security. The Brussels event is accompanied every year by regional conferences across Europe.

Below are the solution events which were held after the main conference: see blogpost 14/03 Annual Conference Forum for the future of Agriculture

21/03 Resource-oriented solutions for industrial wastewater treatment

Water2REturn is an Innovation Action co-funded by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 (H2020) programme. It is coordinated by BIOAZUL company (Malaga, Spain) and is focused on the recovery and recycling of nutrients from slaughterhouse wastewater in the framework of a Circular Economy model. Nutrients recovered are turned into value added products for the agro-chemical industry and, consequently, for the agricultural sector.

The Water2REturn Final Conference allowed a comprehensive presentation of project results.

• Introduction to Water2REturn project – Pilar Zapata, Bioazul S.L.
• Nutrients recovery and agronomic products manufacturing – David Haigh, Kimitec Biogroup S.L.
• Environmental assessments – Gulgun Acar, 2B Srl.
• Impact of an initiative like Water2REturn for the agricultural sector – Daniel Monteleone, ELO
• Other nutrients recovery initiatives: FERTIMANURE project - Laia Llenas Argelaguet

21/03 Reducing methane emissions in the agricultural sector

This Solutions Workshop, hosted by Cargill addressed the challenges around methane reduction in livestock farming, and more specifically methane emissions coming from the digestion of ruminants, the current state of affairs and available solutions, the actors, the barriers and trade-offs. The Workshop brought together relevant stakeholders to discuss how across the value chain the rights conditions can be created for impactful methane reduction approaches at farm, policy, consumer and business levels.

• Mark Titterington, Senior Adviser, Strategy & Partnerships, Forum for the Future of Agriculture
• Lieve Beyen, Regional Managing Director Europe, Middle East, Africa for Cargill Animal Nutrition
• Asger Christensen, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe/Denmark
• Margrethe Jonkman, Global Director Research & Development, Royal Friesland Campina
• Joris Relaes, Administrator-General, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO)

22/03 Raising animal welfare and ethics in EU egg production – the example of ending chick culling

The EU Commission is currently consulting on the EU animal welfare legislation and has included amongst other elements the option to prohibit the culling of male chicks in egg production. Furthermore, Germany and France have adopted national legislation, which limits this practice. This solutions workshop focused on the ethics side of a potential EU ban on chick culling in egg production; while analysing the potential of the implementation of cost-free solutions for hatcheries, lowering the threshold for uptake of innovation in the chain.

• Carmen Uphoff, Head of Public Affairs & Business Development and member of the managing board, respeggt group
• Frank Meuser, NGO Tierschutzbund (“German Animal Welfare Federation”)
• Annika Lange, NGO Tierschutzbund (“German Animal Welfare Federation”)
• Wouter Bruins, Founder of In Ovo

22/03 Unleashing the potential of innovation

From biologicals and digital solutions to new genomic techniques, innovation offers great potential to improve sustainable food systems. This panel explored how innovation can help support the introduction of a new paradigm for sustainable agriculture. The session explained how biologicals; insect sensors; and new genomic techniques (NGTs) can enhance biodiversity and support sustainability.

Introduction from moderator - Femi Oke - Journalist

Why do we need innovation in a sustainable food system?

• Robert Renwick - Head of Business Sustainability EAME, Syngenta Crop Protection.
• Ana Carricondo, Birdlife Spain - Coordinator of Conservation Programs in SEO BirdLife
• Pedro Gallardo, Asaja - President ASAJA Cádiz / Vice-president of COPA (COPA-COGECA)

Biopesticides - an example of innovation supporting sustainability

• Camilla Corsi - Head Crop Protection Research, Syngenta
• Giuseppe Natale - Chief Executive Officer at Valagro SpA

How can innovation support and encourage biodiversity?

• Vasileios Vasileiadis - Sustainable & Responsible Business Manager EAME, Biodiversity & Agronomy, Syngenta
  He briefly presented  iNaturalist app. this is one of the world's most popular nature apps. iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over 400,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! What's more, by recording and sharing your observations, you'll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society.
• Eva Haensel - Sustainable Portfolio Development Head Crop Protection Development for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Syngenta
• Kiran Joseph - Digital Sustainability Product Manager, Syngenta

How can New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) support sustainability?

• Sarah Iveson - Head of Field Crops Seeds Development for Syngenta Seeds
• Charlie Baxter - Head of Traits, Regulatory and Product Safety, Syngenta Seeds

24/03 The true cost of food – from shifting markets to informing policy

True Cost Accounting (TCA) is a tool that can reveal the externalities related to food production and consumption, and serve as a basis to internalize these impacts (both positive and negative), and foster the most sustainable behaviours and practices. The “hidden costs” of global food systems are estimated to be US$19.8 trillion annually with $12 trillion from health costs. These costs stem from diet-related chronic diseases, impacts of climate change, and unfair wages. Often, these costs are borne by the least advantaged segments of society (e.g., smallholder farmers, youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, people of colour, marginalized communities). By applying the right incentives, these costs can be mitigated to ensure that food systems create real value for society. This session discussed how food system approaches, particularly True Cost Accounting, can provide holistic assessments of the negative externalities and positive benefits of different interventions, thus elucidating evidence that leads to the improvement of food system strategies and policies.

• Tanja Ploetz, WWF-Germany, moderation
• Eberhard Brandes, CEO WWF-Germany - Why is it important to draw a clear picture of the externalities in the food system?
• Amelie Michalke, Research Assistant, Sustainability Science and Applied Geography, University of Greifswald, Germany - How much is the dish? A research project
• Alexander Müller, Managing Director, TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability -  True Cost Accounting and Dietary Patterns: The Opportunity for Coherent Food System Policy
• Susanne Breuer, Officer for Latin America / Energy and Food, MISEREOR -  Social aspects of TCA from a global south perspective

Panel discussion

• Martine van Weelden, Senior Manager, Capitals Coalition
• Salman Hussain, Head, The Economics of Nature Unit, UNEP
• Robert Konrad, Adviser for Natural Capital, DG Environment, European Commission, DG Environment, European Commission

24/03 Developing and scaling regenerative agriculture

Over the past twelve months, the Forum has focused much of its annual program on regenerative agriculture. This reflects the emerging interest in regenerative agriculture as a potential approach to a more sustainable food and farming system in Europe and beyond. The EU policy agenda has also begun to address this whilst many global companies and organisations have started to make commitments to source from growers who adopt regenerative agriculture practices.

• Fabio Brusa Senior European Affairs Manager, Nestlé Europe 
• Herbert Dorfmann Member of the European Parliament 
• Alexandre Nepomuceno General Head of the National Soybean Research Center at Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) 
• Emmanuel Petel Policy Coordinator, European Commission, DG AGRI 
• Galina Peycheva-Miteva Bulgarian farmer, landowner and activist 
• Shari Rogge-Fidler President and CEO, Farm Foundation 
• Marc Rosiers Director at MR F&A Consult 
• Mark Titterington Senior Adviser, Strategy & Partnerships, FFA - moderator

24/03 Improving water resiliency through nature-based solutions and regenerative agriculture

This event explored case studies from the private sector on using nature-based solutions and regenerative agriculture to improve water resiliency in their operations and value chain footprints. On average, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals (FAO, 2017) and agricultural production also impacts the quality of freshwater supplies. That’s why private sector actors who influence agriculture have the power to improve the resiliency of water supplies.

• Truke Smoor, Global Sustainability Director, Water, Cargill
• Muriel Jaujou, Water Cycle & Sustainability Director, Danone
• Emmanuel Rurema, Executive Director, Upper-Tana Nairobi Water Fund
• Saswati Bora, Director of Regenerative Food Systems, The Nature Conservancy
• Noor Yafai (Moderator), Global Policy & Institutional Partnerships Director, Europe

28/03 Converging views towards a sustainable EU food system

With the new legislative framework for sustainable food systems already on the horizon, the European Union will need to address a dual challenge: on the one hand, bring together the many divergent views and create a long-term vision for the EU food system; on the other, truly break new ground with this legislation, so that it creates a policy environment that can enable the desired transition to sustainability.

• Jabier Ruiz - Moderator, Senior Policy Officer, Agriculture & Sustainable Food Systems, European Policy Office of WWF 
• Laurent Bontoux Senior Foresight for Policy Expert at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre - Presentation of the JRC report:
  
  Bock, A., Bontoux, L. and Rudkin, J., Concepts for a sustainable EU food system, # 88 p.
  Food systems, worldwide and in the EU, need urgent and significant transformation to become sustainable. The EU Farm to Fork Strategy, a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, takes a food system perspective and sets out actions to move towards a ‘fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system’. 
  
  
• Jessica Duncan Associate Professor in the Politics of Sustainable Food Systems, Wageningen University - Food governance and participation in policy making 
• Petra Laux Head Business Sustainability, Syngenta Crop Protection 
• Silvia Schmidt Policy Associate Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

28/03 Global biodiversity targets: which role for agriculture?

A post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is to be adopted when the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity takes place in May 2022. Building on the UN’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the new framework will respond to the ongoing biodiversity decline and aims to transform society’s relationship with biodiversity and to achieve a shared vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.

Sustainability in agriculture features in the second action target, referencing conservation work and the sustainable use of biodiversity and increasing the productivity and resilience of these industries. We will not reach these global biodiversity goals without the active involvement of the food and agriculture sector. 

This event brought together agriculture and nature conservation experts to discuss the role of the sector in the fight against biodiversity decline.

• Alberto Arroyo Schnell - Head of Policy and Programme, IUCN
• Ms. Jihyun Lee - Director of Science, Society and Sustainable Futures Division of the CBD Secretariat - Keynote
• Janez Potočnik - Co-Chair Environment International Resource Panel
• Patricia Zurita - CEO BirdLife International
• Pekka Pesonen - Secretary General Copa and Cogeca - European farmers and European agri-cooperatives
• Apex Brasil
• Dr. Rodrigo Lima - Partner-Director of Agroicone, international lawyer specialized in Trade and Biodiversity
• Noor Yafai (Moderator) - Europe Director Global Policy and Institutional Partnerships, The Nature Conservancy

29/03 ForumforAg Final Wrap-up and Land and Soil Management Award Ceremony

Following the Annual Conference, Solutions and Policy events, this wrap-up event summarised and concluded all the ForumforAg activities during the month of March.

• Mark Titterington, Senior Adviser, Strategy & Partnerships, Forum for the Future of Agriculture - moderator
• Janez Potočnik, Chair ForumforAg and Chairman RISE Foundation - Summary of the Forum month of March
• Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, European Commission - Special address
• Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, USDA
• Dr Marie Brueser, Entrepreneurship Leader, Thought For Food (TFF)
• Galina Peycheva-Miteva, Bulgarian farmer, landowner and activist
• Thierry de l'Escaille, Secretary General, European Landowners’ Organization
• Jon Parr, President of Syngenta Crop Protection and Member of the Global Leadership Team