A vision for sustainable agriculture and food production – the biobased society
dec 16 2009
Presentation by Michael Brockenhuus-Schack, Chairman, Danish Agriculture & Food Council, on COP15 side event 16 December 2009. The COP15 side event was organized by the Danish Agriculture & Food Council and Novozymes in cooperation with the Climate Consortium Denmark.
Let me begin by thanking the previous speakers for setting the scene – both regarding the challenges we are facing due to climate change and for presenting case studies that illustrate how we can promote sustainable development in society based on the prudent use of our scarce natural resources. It’s now my privilege to follow up by presenting the vision for a biobased society - a vision for sustainable agriculture and food production.
Let me remind you, Ladies and Gentlemen, of the nature of the global challenges we are facing. The global human population is expected to increase by 50 per cent from 6 billion to 9 billion within only four decades. This will lead to a huge increase in the global demand for food, energy and materials.
In the agricultural sector we are keenly aware of our responsibility to increase food production while at the same time minimizing the impact on the environment and the climate.
At the same time, climate change is putting pressure on the agricultural sector due to changes in precipitation and temperatures and increased problems with pests and plant diseases. Inevitably, these changes will lead to less stable yields. Furthermore, we will need to make special efforts to ensure soil fertility.
As the world´s natural resources are put under increasing pressure, we need to find sustainable solutions.
We also need to develop alternatives to our current reliance on fossil energy.
It has been a very rewarding experience, during the past few days in Copenhagen, to see increasing numbers of people appreciate the fact that agriculture is a very important part of the solution.
Biomass from agriculture, forestry and the aquatic environment are important feedstock for a future sustainable society.
And a broad range of biotechnologies are important tools to develop a truly biobased society. This includes the use of traditional and modern biotechnnologies to increase yields and reduce the loss of crops, and the use of microorganisms and enzymes to optimize the utilisation of the biomass and enhance the recycling of limited resources.
Together with Novozymes, we have drawn up a vision for a future sustainable biobased society in which agriculture provides the growing global population with safe and sufficient food as well as feedstock in the form of biomass for the production of energy and biomaterials.
Here we must emphasize that there is a broad range of renewable alternatives with regard to energy – but when it comes to alternatives to plastics produced from oil and other kinds of materials, the only sustainable and renewable alternative is based on biomass.
In addition some of the essential plant nutrients such as phospherus are non-renewable. Therefore it is necessary to recycle and reuse nutrients from agricultural and urban waste. The global resources of phosphorus are sufficient to meet the needs of the agricultural sector only for the next 60 to 80 years.
However, the good thing is that greenhouse gas emissions and the leaching of nutrients can be minimised at the same time. In fact, we can create synergy with regard to biodiversity, carbon sequestration, landscape management, water management, recycling of nutrients and maintaining the fertility of the soil.
Using different kinds of biotechnologies throughout the value chain will provide us with sustainable products of high quality in the form of food, bioenergy and biobased materials.
We can and, in my opinion, should turn the current fossil fuel-based society into a truly biobased society that promotes the recycling and reuse of feedstock and scarce nutrients such as phosphorus. This can be achieved through the synergies that can be derived from the combination of sustainable agriculture and biotech solutions.
It will be a significant change.
A biobased society will be characterised by
- less dependency on oil and other fossil resources due to the use of renewable resources not only for the production of food and feed but also for energy and biomaterials
- recycling with particular emphasis on the utilisation of by-products from food production and the reuse and recycling of nutrients
- the development of crops that are resilient to abiotic and biotic stress as a tool to ensure increased yield
- improved management practices such as crop rotation and water management
- better quality and quantity of food from more efficient use of raw materials and minimised losses from turning waste into new products
Let me give a couple of examples of platforms that can provide us with the processing and organisation we need to fulfil the vision of a biobased society:
- In biorefineries, the biomass is processed by a combination of mechanical and biological methods including microorganisms and enzymes. In other words: in a biorefinery also waste is turned into value such as food, energy, biomaterials and fertilisers
- Biogas plants handling livestock manure and organic residues from the food industry, households, natural habitats etc. act as a platform that produces renewable energy for power and heat or for transportation and at the same time reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the leaching of nitrogen from livestock manure. Furthermore, biogas plants can ensure effective recycling of nutrients by turning urban waste into agricultural fertilisers.
A biobased society will not grow out of nothing. What we need is long-term political commitment to establish framework conditions that promote
- Sustainable solutions and private investments - and
- A tageted focus on research, development and demonstration
We need policies that promote sustainable land use practices and that stimulate an optimised utilisation of the biomass resources and the recycling and reuse of scarce minerals.
We call upon the UNFCCC to establish a work programme under SBSTA [udtales SUB-STA] that can provide in-depth studies of agricultural mitigation and related issues.
The Copenhagen Conference of the Parties COP 15 is an important step forward in ensuring the necessary development. Thank you.
Read the Vision here (pdf)
Up