October 20, 2021
ARTICLEPublished by Agri-Pulse, October 20, 2021AMP
“The report’s release comes as the Biden administration is organizing a coalition of countries to promote the use of technology to increase global food production. The coalition will be formally launched at the international climate conference that starts Oct. 31 in Glasgow.
Jim Gaffney, an agricultural development officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development, said farmers in Africa are often planting seed varieties that are 20 to 30 years old and not adapted to changes in the climate. ‘The options for farmers to adapt and become more resilient aren’t there,’ he said on a webinar launching the GAP report.
The challenges are different in Europe, where there is a push by consumers and the European Union to reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides and farmers don’t have access to genetically engineered seeds.
‘We don’t have access to these new technologies because the French citizens … want a greener world, less pesticides, less tractors, less everything,’ said Eric Demotte, who grows corn and wheat near Bordeaux in southwestern France.
He said, however, that more farmers are using conservation tillage, which can improve soil heath and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”