The DSM co-CEO emphasized the deep connection between climate change and food systems on Thursday, emphasizing the importance of moving quickly and using technology to meet the challenges they create.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe”, Geraldine Matchett said that food systems are “one of the major causes of climate change, with about 25% of … greenhouse gases coming from agricultural and food space.” They were also, she said, “one of the biggest victims”.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “food systems” cover everything from production and processing to distribution, consumption and disposal.
A key part of this is agriculture, which tends to be affected by climate change. In fact, FAO described climate change as having “direct and indirect effects on agricultural productivity, including changes in patterns of precipitation, drought, floods and the geographical redistribution of pests and diseases”.
Given the above, it is not surprising that many see the challenge of producing enough food and, at the same time, adapting to climate change and mitigating the environmental footprint of agriculture as enormous.
Later this year, these issues will be covered in detail at the COP26 conference on climate change and at the UN Food Systems Summit, to be held in the Scottish cities of Glasgow and New York, respectively.
Anticipating these events, Matchett described himself as “very optimistic”. She added: “When there is (a) the perception that there is urgency, but there are also many innovations that are already here to fix this, we can start.”
Matchett went on to explain how she thought a renewed focus would be placed on agriculture at COP26.
“I think one of the main actions that will be promoted … is that each country includes the agricultural space in its goals,” she said.
There is “a very understandable reason why it was so difficult in the beginning: it is because the food space is not just a few large companies or corporations, it is millions of farmers, it is millions of families.”
Recognizing that the reach of this area was very wide, Matchett also mentioned how things could change for the better through carbon sequestration and other technologies linked to agriculture and livestock.
The United States Geological Survey describes carbon sequestration as “the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide”. Dividing things a little more, carbon capture can occur naturally – through forests, for example – or through artificial engineering systems developed by humans.
“There are many things where you can really turn the farming community into heroes that help to fix climate change and at the same time get better,” she added. “So there is a great opportunity, and that is what is good about this space: it is full of opportunities.”
Ideas and innovation
Perhaps an example of this is the Cauca Climate-Smart Village project in Colombia, an initiative that focused on the development of agricultural practices that are expected to be sustainable and resilient to future challenges.
Ana Maria Loboguerrero is head of global policy research in the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
In an interview with CNBC last year, Loboguerrero said the project in Cauca was co-generating evidence with farmers about “practices, technologies, which can help us increase productivity and food security, which can help us increase adaptation to climate change and variability and that can help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “
During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, the notion of using new technologies and innovations in agriculture was reinforced by PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta.
“The concept of demonstration farms is proving to be very powerful,” he said.
“So, building demonstration farms where we have the new techniques and where … neighborhood farmers go and learn from their colleagues, this is a great concept (and) we have many demonstration farms around the world.”
“(O) the second concept we are working on, with the World Economic Forum and some other colleagues, are the centers of innovation,” said Laguarta.
“There is a lot of money … a lot of ingenuity going to fintechs going to … other fields – not enough going to agritech,” he continued.
“And I think that we can play a role – large companies also with the public sector – of building innovation centers, of bringing technology and innovation closer to the farmer.”