We're working on integrated solutions that will provide sustainable diets for all amid global challenges.
More sustainable and profitable farming
To feed the world's population and support national economies and rural livelihoods, we need to continue finding innovative solutions for agriculture, land use and food security. At the same time, there are challenges of resource competition, degradation and climate change. These are challenges for both Australian and global producers of food and food processing industries, small and large.
Photo courtesy of ILRI ©International Livestock Research Institute
Photo courtesy of ILRI ©International Livestock Research Institute
Boosting production alone will not be enough to maintain a healthy population; we also need to increase the availability of nutritious food. In 2016, two billion people suffered from micronutrient deficiencies and two billion were overweight or obese.
Agricultural production and deforestation are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (about 25 per cent in 2010) but there is also potential for agriculture to reduce its emissions and sequester carbon dioxide. There is strong demand for science-based approaches to emission reductions across the value chain.
An increasing middle class in Asia combined with the rapid globalisation of food systems is changing Australia's agricultural relationship with its regional neighbours, with new opportunities emerging for collaboration in agricultural knowledge and services across research, business and innovation systems.
Innovative, appropriate and targeted solutions
We are taking an integrated approach to addressing many of the challenges facing Australian and global agriculture, including the following.
Photo courtesy of ILRI ©International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Photo courtesy of ILRI ©International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
A range of solutions and contributions are needed across the public and private sectors, from biotechnology to implementing ecological principles into agricultural systems. Our research aims to create opportunities for agriculture internationally that helps deliver on the global sustainable development goals and positions Australian agriculture and agricultural research to prosper in a rapidly changing world.
For more information on our work, visit Agriculture and Global Change.
We partner with small and large companies, government and industry in Australia and around the world.