Leading officials including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are sounding the alarm over the alarming state of global food security. The war in Ukraine, Guterres recently highlighted, risks tipping “tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity, followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine, in a crisis that could last for years.”

Europe, less likely to face acute shortages, though increasing prices are straining household budgets, now has a moral duty to help alleviate the growing food insecurity gripping poorer countries by increasing its agricultural output. In order to balance this necessary increase in production with the EU’s long-standing commitment to protecting the environment, Europe must take decisive action to embrace both traditional plant science tools as well as increasingly sophisticated agricultural innovations and technology, boosting yields while reducing the environmental impact of farming.

…

By leveraging precision agriculture, farmers are able to produce more while using fewer resources, as well as reducing the environmental impact of food production. The targeted approach at the centre of precision agriculture allows farmers to use less water and land, thereby reducing deforestation. Being able to correctly identify pests also enables them to use far smaller quantities of pesticides, while the use of data can also save on the use of fertilizer.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here