LAST week Canberra hosted the World Youth Agriculture Summit with 100 young people aged 18-25 from 33 countries in attendance.
The summit was an opportunity to discuss the role science and modern agriculture play in feeding the planet.
The event, run through Bayer and Future Farmers Network, is aimed at tackling global food challenges, and its theme was “how to feed a hungry planet.”
Current population predictions believe that by 2050, nine billion people will live on our planet which means less land and ability to produce food.
The summit consisted of young leaders connecting with each other, inspirational speakers, brainstorming sessions and agricultural field trips.
The focus was on sustainability, leadership and innovation. The outcomes gathered at the event will be presented at the UN Committee on World Food Security in Rome in October by Australian delegate Laura Grubb and Kenyan delegate Samba Ouma Zablon.
Member of the Board of Management for Bayer CropScience Bernd Naaf said Australia was a key country when it came to agriculture.
“This is the second Youth Ag-Summit and we are delighted to continue our movement in Canberra. Australia is a key country in terms of modern agriculture and an ideal host for this event.”
“We are very proud to have such bright minds and great organisations on board to commonly build a sustainable global network of future leaders and strong partners in agriculture.”
Laura Grubb was one of two representatives chosen to present their findings in Rome.
“Normally at conferences the information and idea shared stay within the body of people that attended, but we have a unique opportunity to spread this around the globe to both developed and developing countries, across a range of different ecosystems, productions systems, and cultures. That means we can really put the goals we’ve developed at this conference into practice and make a difference,” she said.
