Syngenta Scientist Presents Avenues To Reshape Agriculture’s Environmental Sustainability

For the first time, the transformation of global food systems will top the COP agenda. Petra Laux outlines three promising avenues to reshape agriculture into a powerful lever for achieving environmental sustainability. Provided by: Syngenta

By Dr. Petra Laux, Head of Business Sustainability for Syngenta Crop Protection as it appeared in Devex Dish

Dr. Petra LauxAs climate change intensifies, the conversation around two of the most significant contributors — energy and transportation — has shifted. Once viewed as problems, these industries are now being reframed as solutions. It’s time for us to take a similar approach to agriculture, a contributor to climate change that could potentially be one of our most powerful levers for reversing its course.

The agriculture industry has done a heroic job feeding a world population that last year passed the 8 billion mark. To sustain the 9.7 billion that’s expected by 2050, while actively promoting environmental sustainability — as opposed to simply reducing emissions — we need to invest in breakthrough agricultural innovations with the same gusto, focus, and creativity that we’ve applied to transform transportation and energy.

Policies such as the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act have been instrumental in converting the energy industry into a climate solution, with more than 270 new clean energy projects announced in the past year. The same law points to a path forward in farming, with nearly $20 billion allocated toward climate-smart agriculture.

Policy initiatives such as these are critical. But we need more. Many more. As world leaders gather in the United Arab Emirates for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28, the transformation of global food systems will for the first time top the conference agenda. Here are three of the most promising avenues for this desperately needed transformation — and the policies, programs, and research agendas we need to unleash the earth-saving potential of the industry responsible for feeding the world.

1. Boosting soil health

Over the past 40 years, erosion, pollution, and poor farming practices such as overgrazing and fertilizer misuse have stripped the earth of a third of its arable land. If we continue with business as usual, we would need to cut down pristine forests to feed the growing global population — a devastating, short-sighted move that would only accelerate climate change.

It’s crucial that we maximize yields on existing farmland, and that we do so in a way that dramatically improves soil health.

Studies have shown that regenerative agriculture practices such as no-till farming and the use of cover crops can meaningfully boost soil health by reducing erosion, improving water retention, and allowing bio-organisms to flourish. Regenerative agriculture can also increase plants’ ability to function as carbon pumps, removing carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering — storing — it below ground.

2. Driving digital innovation

Across all industries, organizations are using data-driven insights to make smart, precise decisions based on real-time information. They’re implementing those decisions with user-friendly technologies that incorporate artificial intelligence, machine learning, edge computing, and robotics. We need a proliferation of such solutions for farmers and a parallel effort to encourage widespread adoption — including by many of the world’s 600 million smallholder farmers.

Such solutions can range from John Deere’s fully autonomous tractor to the new digital tools that a vanguard of farmers have adopted. These hardware and software tools use data from satellites, sensors, and historical archives to help farmers determine which supplements are needed to nurture and protect their crops, as well as precisely when, where, and in what quantities to apply them.

Digital innovations such as these enable farmers to practice “precision agriculture,” in which chemical and natural supplements are applied in the precise amounts needed to ensure healthy yields. This approach can turbocharge farming efficiency, which is a must if we’re going to grow more food on the same amount of land with fewer chemicals. It’s imperative that we rapidly accelerate the pace of digital innovation in farming by encouraging further investment in the ag-tech sector and related research and development.

3. Supporting genome editing and biologicals

Genome editing, or gene editing, uses recent scientific advances to accelerate the traditional plant breeding process. Unlike genetically modified organism, or GMO, technology, gene editing works with a plant’s own genetic variation to either amplify or suppress the expression of particular characteristics in a precise way. Results can include better taste, longer shelf life, and improved water retention as well as higher resilience to pests, diseases, and climate pressures.

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union are currently reviewing a proposal to reverse its ban on products developed using gene editing. Approval of this proposal, alongside measures to help consumers understand the distinction between GMOs and genome editing, will spur further innovation in this area.

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