Agriculture of the future

Watch the presentations of the conference "Agriculture of the future" here.

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Table of contents

From May 18th you will find all videos of the series "Agriculture of the Future" from our online congress "Visions for Transition - How Agriculture and Cities of the Future can save Biodiversity".

• Opening keynote: Can politics save the planet?
  Dr. Alice Vadrot, Council on biodiversity Austria, University of Vienna
   
• Extinction of species, climate crisis, pandemic: How do we save the planet? 
  Dr. Wolfgang Cramer, Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE), France
   
• A historical inventory: From hunting and gathering to modern agriculture
  Dr. Simone Gingrich, Institute for social ecology, Austria
   
• When chemicals interact with ecosystems
  Dr. Violette Geissen, Wageningen University, Netherlands
   
• Surviving as Holobiont
  DDr. Martin Grassberger, Sigmund Freud University, University of Vienna, Austria
   
• Can agroecology feed the world?
  Dr. Hans Rudolf Herren, Biovision Switzerland
   
• Our food system and climate change: From problems to solutions
  Dr. Marta Guadalupe Rivera-Ferre, University of Vic, Spain
   
• Agriculture of the future: What are our options?
  Nicolas Dendoncker, PhD, University of Namur, Belgium
   
• Can Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) contribute to change?
  DI Christof Kuhn, Birdlife Austria
   
• From Imagination to Transition
  Dr. Rob Hopkins, Transition Network, Great Britain
   
• Presentation of the results of the roundtable on agriculture and the Next Generation roundtable
  DI Martin Kugler, Journalist & Mag. Miriam Bahn, GLOBAL 2000
   
• Food cooperatives: How farmers and consumers can work together
  Julianna Fehlinger, MA, Via Campesina Austria
   
• "Save bees and farmers": The contribution of citizens' movements & NGOs to save biodiversity
  Dr. Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, GLOBAL 2000, Austria

• Next Generation Roundtable

• Joint final workshop

All presentations

Opening keynote: Can politics save the planet?

Dr. Alice Vadrot, Council on biodiversity Austria, University of Vienna

Extinction of species, climate crisis, pandemic: How do we save the planet? 

Dr. Wolfgang Cramer, Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE), France

What are the scientific facts about the climate and biodiversity crisis and how do they influence each other? What do the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the World Biodiversity Council (IPBES) recommend to limit these global crises? And what does the Covid crisis change?

A historical inventory: From hunting and gathering to modern agriculture

Dr. Simone Gingrich, Institute for social ecology, Austria

From the hunter and gatherer to the modern farmer. To what extent is modern man still dependent on ecosystem services? How has our relationship to the environment changed throughout history. To what extent has the introduction of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and genetic engineering reduced the dependence of agriculture on nature?

When chemicals interact with ecosystems 

Dr. Violette Geissen, Wageningen University, Netherlands

With the intensification of the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, the so-called Green Revolution has achieved record yields worldwide since the 1960s. But what are the effects of the increased use of chemicals on the condition and diversity of life on soil, water and air?

Surviving as Holobiont

DDr. Martin Grassberger, Sigmund Freud University, University of Vienna, Austria

Are those drivers that have brought the global ecosystem to the brink of the abyss also responsible for the increase in malnutrition, obesity and chronic diseases in all age groups and social classes? Is there a connection between the silent death of species and the deterioration of human health? And how can this global health and environmental crisis be overcome?

Can agroecology feed the world?

Dr. Hans Rudolf Herren, Biovision Switzerland

One decade after the publication of the IAASTD World Agriculture Report diverse questions arise. How should the recommendations of the report with regard to current and future food security be assessed? How have food situation, agricultural policy, agricultural production conditions and the state of research developed since then? What measures should be taken in view of biodiversity loss threatening the world's food supply according to the FAO report?

Our food system and climate change: From problems to solutions

Dr. Marta Guadalupe Rivera-Ferre, University of Vic, Spain

How do the currently dominant forms of agricultural production that are dependent on chemical inputs affect the environment, biodiversity and climate? What changes are needed to ensure that the 1.5 degree target formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change remains within reach? Where are the dead ends? What can we do today to best prepare the agriculture for the future challenges of climate change?

Agriculture of the future: What are our options?

Nicolas Dendoncker, PhD, University of Namur, Belgium

Agroecology refers to a social movement, a science and a set of practices that can feed the world. What does it have in common with concepts related to sustainable agriculture such as permaculture, agroforestry or sylvopastoralism? How do they differ from high-tech "smart" farming systems? What systemic changes in our production, governance, and economic strategies are necessary to make our food system resilient, autonomous and respectful of people and nature?

Can Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) contribute to change?

DI Christof Kuhn, Birdlife Austria

Where are the CAP negotiations at present? How and according to which criteria should the EU dedicate its agricultural budget so that the CAP does not become an obstacle to systemic change but stimulates biodiversity-promoting and resilient forms of cultivation? Are positive impulses from the CAP a necessary precondition for the greening of agriculture or could a transformation also take place independently of the CAP?

From Imagination to Transition

Dr. Rob Hopkins, Transition Network, Great Britain

More and more people - especially young people – are taking the future as increasingly bleak and threatening in the face of the great ecological crisis. But does it have to be? No, says Rob Hopkins - we have the capacity to make dramatic changes. If we fail, it will be because we allow our most important tool to wither away: the human imagination, the ability to see things as they could be, that is, the ability to ask... And if there was ever a time when we needed that ability, it's now.

Presentation of the results of the roundtable on agriculture and the Next Generation roundtable

DI Martin Kugler, Journalist & Mag. Miriam Bahn, GLOBAL 2000

Miriam Bahn and Martin Kugler, moderators of the two Round Tables, present the most important results, common and controversial views and identified options for action from the discussions.

Food cooperatives: How farmers and consumers can work together

Julianna Fehlinger, MA, Via Campesina Austria

The problems are clear: small farms are struggling to survive in the market and consumers have lost contact with agriculture. An industry-dominated food system dominates the market. How important is the cooperation between consumers and farmers? How can solidarity-based agriculture and member-operated supermarkets contribute to the provision of quality, healthy and affordable food for all and at the same time stimulate a transformative greening of agriculture?

"Save bees and farmers": The contribution of citizens' movements & NGOs to save biodiversity

Dr. Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, GLOBAL 2000, Austria

Scientific controversies about the risks of pesticides (keywords: cancer risk from glyphosate, bee mortality from neonicotinoids) have shaken confidence in chemical crop protection. Across Europe, civil society movements are sprouting from the soil demanding a transformation of our food system to solve the biodiversity crisis. One of them is the European Citizens' Initiative "Save bees and farmers! But what contribution can such movements really make to social change and to saving biodiversity?

Next Generation Round Table

Presentation of the "Next Genereation" Round Table (de)

Results of the "Next Generation" Round Table (de)

Joint final workshop

Our Visions for Transition

What If

This conference was supported by

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Furthermore we would like to thank:

and the "EEHI - Environmental Health Initiative"