Global challenges for sustainable food production

Pests, pathogens and unpredictable rainfall: Global challenges for sustainable food production
Globally around one third of our crops are lost to pests and diseases, even with the use of modern pesticides, whilst the production of sufficient, safe and nutritious food is increasingly threatened by unpredictable and extreme weather. Given the likely 70% increase in demand for food by 2050, we urgently need new ways to protect our crops and to make them more resilient to the increasing likelihood of drought as temperatures rise and weather patterns change. The ability of our crops to defend against pests and survive drought has been reduced because we have selected varieties with high yield at the expense of other beneficial traits, but it still exists in wild ancestors, offering us the possibility of restoring these capabilities to our crops in the future.
In this talk, Professor Sue Hartley explores the inter-disciplinary approaches which may provide new sustainable methods of crop protection and improved resilience to climate change.
Professor Sue Hartley is Director of the York Environmental Sustainability Institute at the University of York, Chair of the RCUK Sustainable Agriculture Research Innovation Club, a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the President of the British Ecological Society.