heribert hirt - plant sciences research priorities in the 21st century

Heribert Hirt European Plant Science Organisation

Plant Sciences Research Priorities in the 21st Century

Today, more than 1 billion undernourished people — there is enough food available, but these people are too poor to buy it In the next 25 years, food accessibility might worsen due to increases in food prices, bioenergy crop expansion and climate changes Even if access to food could be solved (political level solutions are unlikely), food production has to be doubled by 2050 BUT: Agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, loss of biodiversity and degradation of land and freshwater resources CHALLENGE: How to satisfy growing demand for food at the same time as reducing the environmental harm of agriculture SOLUTION: Sustainable intensification of agriculture

Challenges for Agriculture in the 21st Century

Foley et al. 2011

In many countries, the lack of nutrients and water are key limiting factors, whereas in regions of high productivity yields are limited by crop genetics.

Close the yield gap

Pasture land + crop land for feed = 75 % of global agriculture land Globally only 62 % of crops used for food, 35 % for animal feed and 3 % for bioenergy (Europe and US crops : 40 % food, Asia and Africa: 80 %)

Foley et al. 2011

Close the diet gap

About 30 % of food could be delivered by shifting crop production from animal feed to human food production

Use of irrigation water varies greatly: On average 0.3 l/kCal But > 1 l/kCal is required in Northern India and portions of Middle East).

Enhance irrigation use efficiency

Use enhanced drought resistance and water efficiency crops Use alternative techniques: curtail water losses, use mulching, reduced tillage, etc.

Enhance irrigation use efficiency

Foley et al. 2011

Apply fertilizers in areas of nutrient scarcity (Africa, Asia, Latin America) and develop new more nutrient efficient crops

Enhance nutrient use efficiency

Foley et al. 2011

There are “hot spots” of low nutrient use efficiency and large volumes of excess nutrients (China, Northern India, USA, Western Europe) 10% of the world’s croplands account for 32% of the global nitrogen and 40% of the global phosphorus surplus

Improve farming techniques

- Larger but less soil-degrading machines (doubling grain yields in Brazil) - Zero or reduced tillage - Contour farming - Mulching - Crop coverage - Precision farming

Underground soil sensors give farmers a real-time view of the conditions of the field and allow precise application of nutrients, pesticides, etc. at the right time and place

World-wide annual loss of 40% of yield of major crops due to abiotic/biotic factors: improve crops for drought, salt, pest and disease resistance New crop genetic varieties are needed (e.g. last 20 years: 50 % yield increases for drought-resistant wheat , submergence-tolerant rice, pest-resistant cassava, etc.)

Develop new crop varieties

1/3 of African population is malnourished Solution: Engineer new varieties of cassava (drought, pest, disease resistance)

Generate crops for biofortification of micronutrients and vitamins (e.g. golden rice)

New varieties are also needed local staple crops (e.g. sorghum and millet for sub-Saharan Africa)

Apply modern technologies of crop breeding Single gene-modified organisms – effective for enhancing yield and changing traits (e.g. dwarfing, reducing branching, increased seed number, etc.) Multiple and more foreign gene transgenic varieties (e.g. drought-resistant wheat) – powerful techniques but all suffer from ongoing GMO debate MAS (Marker-assisted selection) – any kind of physical or chemical marker is used for selecting specific traits in a population (e.g. root rot resistance in raspberry) MARS (Marker-assisted recurrent selection) – recurrent crossing of selected elite varieties with selected lines harboring specific traits High throughput genotyping and phenotyping to dissect complex traits – Automatized platforms for screening large populations combined with statistical analysis and modeling

Apply modern technologies of crop breeding Increase germplasm in breeding programs and introgression of alleles from landraces and wild relatives of elite species (e.g. fungal resistance in wheat) Use heterosis (hybrid vigor) more widely in crop breeding – potential of 20 -50 % yield increase (e.g. hybird vigour in maize ) Alleviate the regulatory burden on new technologies - not only GMOs, but also new non-GM technologies are challenged

Diversify and re-introduce old crops

e.g. Quinoa, domesticated since >4000 yrs ago in the Andes , leaves and seeds edible, high nutritional value, food safety issue

e.g. Buckwheat, domesticated since >6000 yrs ago in Southeast Asia, grows on poor N soils, high nutritional value, gluten-free, mulitple uses

300 naturally occurring soil microbes can reduce the need for phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers and protect plants against pathogens and boost yields in crops

Develop integrated stress management

Piriformospora indica: endophytic root fungus confers biotic and abiotic stress tolerance

Rhizobium and Mycorrhiza help plant obtain nitrate and phosphate

Improve crop varieties genetically - essential to achieve long term goals Use the full genetic variety of crops and include orphan crops (i.e. Crops which have not yet been genetically optimized) Improve deployment of existing crop varieties + its management Improve distribution of seed varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Establish incentives for scientists to connect to problems of farmers Improve extension services to connect farmers to scientists Improving production of 16 major crops : - 75 % optimum would increase food production by 28 % - 95 % optimum would increase food production by 58 %

Conclusions

Some current challenges for plant research in Europe

E. coli outbreak in Europe in June 2011

EPSO advances plant science in Europe

Independent academic organisation

Mission: • To promote plant science and support plant scientists

• To discuss future plant science programmes across Europe

• To provide authoritative source of independent information on plant science

• To promote training of plant scientists to meet the 21st century challenges in plant sciences

www.epsoweb.org

EPSO – linking your science to the world

Research alliances are important for research institutes and universities to have a voice at national, European and the global level

EPSO gives input towards EU research agendas, e.g. • Horizon 2020, European Innovation Partnerships, Joint Programming

Initiatives, etc. • Always considers input to innovation and to education agendas

Research alliances of EPSO • Plants for the Future ETP • Steering Councils, Working Groups etc. • Local (e.g. BioScience Center in NRW) • European (EPSO itself, Initiative for Science in Europe) • Global (e.g. FAO, Global Plant Council)

www.epsoweb.org

Europe 2020 Priorities

Tackling Societal Challenges - Health, demographic change and wellbeing - Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine

research & bioeconomy - Secure, clean and efficient energy - Smart, green and integrated transport - Supply of raw materials, resource efficiency

and climate action - Inclusive, innovative and secure societies

Creating Industrial Leadership and Competitive Frameworks

− Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies (Biotechnology,…)

− Access to risk finance

− Innovation in SMEs

Excellence in the Science Base − Frontier research (ERC) − Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) − Skills and career development (Marie Curie) − Research infrastructures

Common rules, toolkit of funding schemes

European Research Area

Simplified access

International cooperation

Coherence with other EU and MS actions

Shared objectives and principles

1) Improve resource use efficiency and resource stewardship

Opportunities and challenges for plant science in the Horizon 2020 programme

Sustainable food security

2) Increase yield and yield stability in dynamic environments and enhancing stress tolerance

3) Enhance crops for healthy human nutrition & animal feed

4) Plants for improved health

5) Improve plant composition and performance for novel (non-food) products

Blue growth

Targeted plant breeding for production of feed for offshore fisheries


Smart cities and communities

"Green cities" - urban food production systems; easy to sketch, but at present difficult and expensive to realise

Novel issues: recycled substrate quality, plant drought resistance, plant composition in urban environments, grey water use, linking small energy and food production systems


Waste as a resource to recycle, reuse and recover raw materials

Research and innovation on how bio-technological, urban and industrial wastes can be used in agriculture

denhaag.nl


Personalising health and care

Development of personalised food and eating habits Healthy food is important for healthy living Healthy food must be based on healthy agricultural

products (research into plant composition, plant secondary compounds or vitamins)

Safe food is a fundamental requirement for healthy living


European integrated technology platforms in genomics, phenotyping and experimental farms

European resource centers

Education programs for young scientists


Reestablish extension services as an exchange mechanism between science, farming and industry

Integrated programs and projects beyond national, sectorial and disciplinary borders

A special focus on human resources

Strengthening European competiveness

European solutions in a global world

Open dialogue with all stakeholders


Projects towards sustainable food production and bioeconomy value chains in developing countries

EPSO promotes the importance of plant sciences

ARG, AUS, AT, BE, BG, BRA, CAN, Chile, CHI, Croatia, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IND, IE, IL, IT, JAP, LI, NL, NEZ, NIG, NO, PL, PT, SB, SI, ES, SE, CH, TK, UK, UKR

2nd International Fascination of Plants Day - Over 1.000 events in 54 countries –

EPSO organizes conferences and workshops EPSO Conferences: 19th FESPB / 8th EPSO Conference Dublin, Ireland, 22-26.6.2014 9th EPSO / 20th FESPB Conference Prague, CZ, 27.6. – 1.7.2016 EPSO Workshops:

EPSO-FAO: Rome, 25-27.6.12 EPSO – Horticulture: 11-12.11. 2013

Heribert Hirt European Plant Science Organisation

Thank you for your attention

2) More resilient plants – increase yield and yield stability in dynamic environments and enhancing stress tolerance

cbc.ca

grist.org

Improving resistance against

weather and climate fluctuations



3) Enhance crops for healthy human nutrition & animal feed

fitmixer.com



4) Plants for improved health

Generate novel control methods, resistances and resistance mechanisms for existing and new (climate change related) pests and diseases

kn-online.de

maerkischeallgemeine.de

tagesspiegel.de

Oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea)



5) Improve plant composition and performance for novel (non-food) products

After en.wikipedia.org

www.nsf.gov

bioenergyconsult.com

Improving cell wall digestibility for agro residues utilisation



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Many countries can make gains in productivity just by improving the use of existing technologies and practices, but sustainable intensification means increasing yields using less water, fertilizer and pesticides.

FAO

Investment in agricultural research will be crucial (yet only 5% of total R&D budget).

Public R&D investments decreased sharply over the last decades (exception China where it doubled in the last decade) Private R&D increased strongly, but only in developed countries and with the focus on Western crops, but not local and alternative crops

Investing into research is investing into our future

heribert hirt - plant sciences research priorities in the 21st century

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