Green transition key for agri-food sector

A global panel of agrarians has called for the innovation-driven green transition of the world's agri-food system, as part of efforts to curb carbon emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change on food production.

While some food-producing regions have initially benefited from warmer weather, the substantial uncertainties caused by global warming are disrupting agriculture across Asia, Africa and South America, the experts said.

They made the remarks on the sidelines of the 2024 World Agri-Food Innovation Conference, held in Beijing earlier this month. The event was organized by China Agricultural University.

Sun Qixin, president of China Agricultural University and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told China Daily that mainstream models indicate a 6 to 8 percent decrease in food production for every 1 C increase in global temperatures, unless technological innovations are introduced to alleviate these effects.

"However, the impact of a warmer climate is not uniform across the globe," he said.

Despite instances of warmer and wetter climate boosting food production in some areas that were previously cold and prone to drought, the sudden and extreme shifts in weather patterns are causing widespread disruptions in food production globally, Sun noted.

Given that the green transition necessitates a substantial reduction in agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, it is crucial to invest in research and technological innovations to ensure that these reforms do not result in decreased output, Sun said.

"We must proceed in this direction despite the challenges," he added.

An estimate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body for evaluating climate science, showed that the agri-food sector, covering the entire cycle from food cultivation to consumption, contributes one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Fu Wenge, a professor at China Agricultural University, said that innovations facilitating green transition do not always require groundbreaking scientific discoveries, adding that sometimes, minor and cost-effective reforms in management models and other fields can bring significant changes.

Fu cited the university's Science and Technology Backyard project, which encourages students to live and work alongside smallholding farmers in rural areas as part of their education programs. The arrangement aims to help promote high-yield crop varieties and environmentally friendly farming practices among rural farming communities. "This model has been implemented in Africa and other regions," he said.

Ismahane Elouafi, executive managing director of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, or CGIAR, a global partnership that unites research groups for a food-secure future, said that the green transition could be achieved through innovations that span technological, policy and institutional levels and include models for countries to work together.

"The impact of climate change is multiplying every day, and the only way forward for us is to adopt innovation in its broad sense to really transform the agriculture system," she said.

The experts also called for greater awareness of increasing food production with reduced carbon footprint and more care for the environment.

Patrick Caron, vice-chair of the CGIAR system board, said that humans have managed to increase food production throughout history, as living conditions improved and consumption patterns changed.

"However, at the moment, we are looking at the increase of production with a different angle," he said, referring to greater care to avoid climate change and degradations of land, water and biodiversity.

Makers of food policy point to China as a source of hope amid the gloomy outlook of increasing food insecurity worldwide, citing the country's ambitious goal to boost its annual food production capacity to approximately 700 million metric tons by 2030, up from the 695 million tons in 2023.

Elouafi, the CGIAR executive managing director, said, "I think China really is a bright spot in the global picture, and not only in increasing productivity in a very smart way, but also in reducing poverty and hunger."

Despite a recent reversal in global progress, the world made significant strides in alleviating hunger and poverty between 2000 and 2017, largely because of China's efforts, she said.

Elouafi noted that China's adoption of technologies and innovations in the agri-food sector, along with its initiatives to enhance rural incomes, played a pivotal role in the success.

Wednesday marked World Food Day, which has been celebrated annually on Oct 16 since 1981 to raise awareness and promote action for fighting hunger and ensuring food security for all.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that as the world's largest food producer, China attaches great importance to global food security.

"China has provided more funding and experts and undertaken more projects than any other developing country under the framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization's South-South Cooperation Programme," she said.

Mao added that China is willing to continue strengthening cooperation on food security with all parties to strive for a world free of hunger.