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Future food supply focus of research in The Netherlands

One of the world’s leading agricultural research institutions wants to be sure there is enough safe, sustainably produced healthy food available for the world’s growing population.

Increasing potential yields is the focus of  research at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Dr. Arthur Mol is Vice Chancellor and Vice Chairman of Agricultural research.

“I think I’m most excited about the possibilities of what we call CRISPR/Cas, a gene editing technology which is very precise.  It has huge sustainability potential so if we apply it in a correct way we can have much more production with less natural resources being used and much less emissions.”

Some of the other research underway at Wageningen University includes creating new production spaces such as brackish production – raising crops on soil with a very high salt content, sustainable re-use of phosphate, phenomics and decreasing the size of our current water footprint.

Brownfield’s Cyndi Young visited the university as part of the 2018 Bayer Crop Science Future of Farming Dialogue.

Bayer Crop Science partners with Wageningen University (WUR) throughout The Netherlands and around the world.  With the help of WUR scientists, field-based research is deployed to find solutions and develop future innovations in areas such as crop production and the environment.  Application-oriented research conducted in partnership with Bayer has led to new, sustainable production systems and processes.

Mol says the university has research partnerships in more than 100 countries.  He said the work being done through Wageningen is important for farmers around the world, including those in the United States.

Conversation with Arthur Mol