In Sydney, a call for paradigm shift on agriculture | Devex

In Sydney, a call for paradigm shift on agriculture | Devex: "Wheat experts at the conference were unanimous in their call for greater political support to fund and prioritize wheat and agricultural research to combat the growing problem of food security.



 “There has been a disinvestment of public dollars going into research and development,” Pardey told Devex.



 “You can get away with that for a while, but if you do that for a decade you eat into the stock of knowledge which is what we are seeing happening throughout the world.”



 It can take seven to 10 years to build a variety of wheat that is resistant to environmental conditions and disease, but by the end of this cycle, researchers are struggling to maintain appropriate funding to keep programs going.



 Braun told Devex there needs to be a dramatic shift in the way agriculture and research was seen by the world’s politicians. “What policymakers and investors need to understand is that agriculture is not a problem — it’s the solution to our future,” he said.



 “This is a perception that really needs to be changing among our policymakers. Agriculture is not just about food production but maintaining the environment. We argue that the potential of wheat should go up 80 percent because then you could reduce the area devoted to wheat and free marginal land for shrubs or trees and give some of this land back before we completely erode it.”"



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