Intensifying food production systems sustainably

Our last e-Highlights explained our plans around our new activities bringing a focus on biosecurity and sustainable intensification.

When Covid-19 started to impact globally, the Crawford Fund established a specialist task force to rapidly scan the emerging impacts on international agricultural research, with particular reference to our partner countries in Asia and the Pacific. At the same time, we were beginning to look at a new range of training and Master Class activities to foster sustainable intensification of production systems.

In October, we are planning to conduct an online workshop to further explore these topics, and to help crystallise ideas about what training activities we can provide in the short to medium term. One of the lessons that we can draw from Covid-19 is the need to take a holistic, system-wide perspective when we are looking at future food production.

Targeted specialists will be invited to explore three key themes:

• how to intensify in a sustainable manner, and achieve a more regenerative agriculture
• how to implement One Health more effectively to underpin development of more sustainable systems, and to support biosecurity needs
• how do we better address water use, land and soil degradation and biodiversity issues in food production systems

Speakers will include Adjunct Professor Martyn Jeggo, Board Member, International Livestock Research Institute, Dr Robyn Alders, Senior Scientific Adviser, Chatham House, honorary professor with the ANU Development Policy Centre and Crawford Fund NSW Committee, Professor Tim Reeves, Crawford Fund Board and Professor in Residence, Dookie Campus of University of Melbourne, Dr Judy Fischer, Adjunct Lecturer, University of WA, and Dr Colin Chartres, CEO, Crawford Fund.