Bringing together food producers, farmers and consumers in Europe and Africa to make food production more sustainable 

Discussion overview

The agri-food sector is having to marshal all its ingenuity, technology, and collective might to rise to the dual challenges of an intensifying climate crisis and burgeoning world population. Making the way we grow and consume food more sustainable is central to food systems transformation, and hinges on the whole value chain pulling together. 

How are farmers and agri-food industry leaders in Europe and Africa responding to this complex challenge? What tools can farmers and the agri-food industry make use of to successfully adapt to climate change (e.g., breeding efforts, prediction tools)? Can farm emissions be reduced without compromising profit margins? What disruptive technologies (like gene editing) are helping farmers and governments to reduce GHGs, whilst improving productivity and saving costs? How can sustainable intensification be implemented in a way that includes and empowers farmers? What do consumers want, and to what extent can (and should) this be influenced by the private sector and policy innovation? 

Hosted by the Financial Times, in partnership with Bayer, this panel discussion explored the innovative approaches transforming the future of farming, and evaluated the cutting-edge technologies driving down costs, increasing sustainable productivity, the implications of the EU Green Deal, and how this adds value throughout the food value chain.

Topics for discussion 

Smart Agriculture: Technology and innovation are essential to enabling and accelerating positive change. What tools are already available for farmers to collaborate, and to share best practices on precision and carbon farming technology? What disruptive or innovative technologies can help governments and farmers to reduce GHGs, whilst improving productivity and saving costs? 

Innovation & the Future of Farming: Food security and climate adaptation are crucial issues for the African continent. What context-specific solutions does the industry provide, and what policies and partnerships do governments need to prioritise to effectively navigate the African context? How can EU and AU governments ease the regulatory burden on the private sector to provide solutions that benefit farmers, consumers and our planet? 

EU Green Deal Objectives: How can the agricultural industry best enable technology to contribute meaningfully to the EU Green Deal objectives? Looking further than the 2030 targets, how can the public and private sector develop the digital farming tools that we will need by 2050?  

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