Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
By the year 2050, the world will contain nine billion people – two billion more than it houses right now – if current projections are accurate. How can we ensure there will be enough food to go around?
That was the focus of a symposium hosted jointly by the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) and the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC).
Dr. Catherine Woteki, USDA’s Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics delivered the keynote address for the event, held at the National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel, Md. on Thursday, October 18.
Dr. Woteki (pictured with Dr. Adel Shirmohammadi from the College of AGNR who co-chaired the event) touted the importance of publicly-funded research and forward-thinking science policies for meeting the challenges of feeding a booming population.
“Agriculture relies heavily on improvements in technology and science-based innovation for increases in production,” Woteki said. “Our priority has got to be to stay ahead of the curve in our science programs.”
This is the second year of the Trends in Agriculture Fall Symposium series which brings together internationally recognized speakers, regional scientists, students, policy makers and other interested parties for an open discussion about emerging issues in agriculture.
Representatives from the College of AGNR and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) make up the organizing committee. Faculty members involved from the College of AGNR include Jose Costa, a professor from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA), Mira Mehta, a nutrition and family science Extension specialist, Tom Porter, chair of the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences (ANSC) and Adel Shirmohammadi, Associate Dean and Associate Director of the Agriculture Experiment Station. Committee members from ARS include Jim Poulos (event co-chair), Perry Cregan, David Donovan, Roger Lawson (retired), Joan Lunney, Gloria Solano-Aguilar and Lewis Ziska.
Other featured speakers for this year’s symposium included Dr. Harry Dawson from the USDA-ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Dr. Gary Muehlbauer, head of the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. John Buchanan, CEO of the Center for Aquaculture Technologies.
