Food, foresight and the future of farming | Dave Hughes (Syngenta) | SCItalk

Many commentators are currently suggesting that our current food system is broken, and nothing short of a global farming revolution will be required to sustainably feed the world over the next 20-30 years. The talk takes a critical look at agriculture as it is today, how it has evolved over the past century and the impact that new technologies have had. It will then extrapolate into the future, critically examining some of the revolutions that are being proposed, and thinking about what new technologies might impact the way we produce our food, and indeed the food itself, in the decades ahead.
Dave Hughes is responsible for new technology identification and evaluation at Syngenta Crop Protection. His role is focused on understanding the present and potential future scientific landscapes, developing relationships with key potential partners and then leveraging those relationships to create value, often through scientific collaborations.
He joined the company as a chemistry team leader in 1995, where he spent 10 years designing and synthesizing new potential pesticides. In 2005 he moved to lead a group of biochemists and molecular biologists investigating the biochemical mode of action of new pesticides before moving to his current role in 2010.
Dave obtained his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford and stayed in Oxford for his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry. He then spent two years as a post doc in Montana State University in the USA before starting his career in agricultural technology.