Plant health and Global Food security:

Best Ecological Means, a triple-win

Prof. dr ir Rudy Rabbinge

Emeritus university professor

Sustainable Development & Food Security

CPM, FAO April 4th 2016

IPM October 22nd, 1976

Content

1 Agriculture & crop protection in historic and futureperspectives

2 Megatrends in agriculture

3 Incremental vs transitional approaches

4 Crop protection developments

5 Best Ecological Means in nature & agriculture

6 Future oriented approaches

7 Conclusions

3

4

Population vs scientific developments

genome project

high speed computers

penicillin

start industrial revolution

start 2nd agricultural revolution

(a.o. crop protection)rail roads

war on malaria

1st irrigation works

invention plow

start 1st agricultural revolution

time (years)

popula

tion

(millions)

Adapted from: Fogel & Robbert 1999

discovery DNA

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

Development phases in crop protection

5

Recognition individual pest and disease control measures

Chemical control

Integrated Pest Management& Plant health

Empirical and descriptive studies

Systems approach

Production Ecology

IGlobal acceptance of crop protection andneeds for policy

IIIUruguay round:

Start IPPC, accepted as global player

IVStrategic planning accepted,

Standards adopted,

Subsidiary policy leading

IIConvention, ratification and standardization of terminology

1850 19001875 19501925 20001975

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS

Two times…

lessmore healthier

Worldwide crop losses

Weeds

Pathogens

Insects

Human food

Crop losses due to plant diseases and pests: € 450.000.000.000

Weeds

Megatrends in agriculture

8

Megatrends: Productivity rise

land productivity

x 5 - 6

labor productivity

x 200 - 300

energy, other inputs

x 2 - 4

0.8

1.8

9

600

350

12

0

200

400

600

800

0.0

2.5

5.0

7.5

10.0

1250 1500 1750 2000

men h

our

per

ha

ton g

rain

per

ha

year

9

in the last centuries:

Food availability per person

10

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

world

developed world

Net

aggricultura

lpro

duction

Index p

er

capita

(1961=

100)

SSAfrica

Year

developing world

Megatrends (2): From craft to industry

11

From adapting to environment to maximum control (fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation)

Introduction of non-terrestrial agriculture

High level of value-added !!

Heterogeneity from liability to asset

Megatrends (3): Chain approach

From spade to plate

Reverse chain: consumer (or retail) driven

Quality, food safety, convenience foods, etc.

Logistic efficiency (on time delivery), unit cost of production

Value-added on numerous stages of the chain cumulative

12

Megatrends (4): Multiple objectives

Building on plant health

Codex alimentarius

Environmentally friendly

Animal friendly

Landscape

13

Megatrends (5): Food and health

Vegetables, fruit and fish are good for health

Aim to produce health inducing component through choices in inputs, farming systems and processing: multiple unsaturated fats

Good Agricultural Practices: agricultural products free from residues (nitrate, pesticides)

Food safety: tracking and tracing (BSE, dioxine)

100 %

Time

Health /

“Q

uality

of life

”Healthy food = healthy ageing

15

Megatrends (6): Biobased economy

High value products, e.g. flavours, fragrants, pharmaceuticals

Materials more efficiently and effectively produced

The plant as production facility

Various products and technologies in development & use

16

17

Incremental vs transitional approaches

incremental transitional

Four solution spaces

bio

-ph

ysic

al

so

luti

on

sp

ace

transitio

nin

cre

menta

l

socio-economic solution space

transitionincremental

Four solution spaces

metropolitanagriculture

reducing waste

circular economy

healthy foodaquaculture

proteinalternatives

increaseresource useefficiency

accessibility

GMOpromoteeco-literacy

blue revolution

bio

-ph

ysic

al

so

luti

on

sp

ace

transitio

nin

cre

menta

l

socio-economic solution space

transitionincremental

Crop protection developments

1850-1900: Recognize plant diseases

National Library of Ireland

IRISH FAMINE 1850(potato blight)

1900-1950: Empirical & descriptive studies

Wageningen UR Library: special collection wall charts

1950-1975: Chemical control

1975-1990: Integrated pest management

& Plant health

assimilates

leafarea

radiationdaylength

temperature

leaf

storage

stem

root

crop factors

photosynthesis

main

tenance

respiration

gro

wth

respiration

develop-ment

waterstress

dryingpower

transpiration

+rain+irrigation-evaporation-percolation

soil factors

+fertilization+mineralization-leaching-immobilisation

soil nutrients

nutrientstress

nutrientuptake

soil moisture

weed:- nutrientcompetition

weed:- watercompetition

leaf/roottissue

consumer

assimilatesucker

xylemblocker

weedshading

lightstealer

pollu-tant

biopathbuster

>1990: Production ecological systems

approach

Production ecological principles

Defining factors

•CO2

•radiation•temperature•crop genetics

potentialproduction

Limiting factors

•water•nutrients(N,P,K)

attainableproduction

Reducing factors

•weeds•pests•diseases•pollutants

actualproduction

Post-harvestlosses

•microbial•insects•rodents•waste

availableproduction

post-harvest-

technology

•storage

•packing

yie

ldgap

yieldincreasingmeasures

yie

ldle

vel yield

protectingmeasures

P R O D U C T I O N S I T U A T I O N

biotechno

logy

26

Approaches

Limiting factors

•water•nutrients(N,P,K)

attainableproduction

yieldincreasingmeasures

Reducing factors

•weeds•pests•diseases•pollutants

actualproduction

yieldprotectingmeasures

yie

ldle

vel

P R O D U C T I O N S I T U A T I O N

27

eliminateyield

limitingfactors

manageyield reducing

factors & plant health

Production situation & resource input

yield level(kg output ha-1)

resource use efficiency(kg output kg-1 input)

marginal endowed well-endowed

potential

attainable

actual

Bio

div

ers

ity

& e

cosyste

ms

serv

ices

Agricultural yield

To share or to spare

production ecology• high productivity• efficient resource use

resource ecology• multifunctional• secure local resources

evolution ecology• ecological integrity• biodiversity

Interventions & issues at different levels

crop farm region continent globesocio-economic factors

bio-physical factors

31

Towards Best Ecological Means

Cropping system

5 year rotation (e.g. wheat, potato, sugarbeet, onionand lucerne

● Increased efficiency

● Soil fertility

● Far less incidences of pests and diseases

Farm level

Introduce plant health instruments

Extend rotation period

Reconnect / Disconnect

● Reconnect plant & animal production

● Disconnect purely crop/animal oriented approaches

Application Best Ecological Means

0

100

200

300

400

500

free market &trade

regionaldevelopment

nature &landscape

enviromentprotection

reference(1992)

Acti

ve a

gen

t (m

lnkg

)

Ground for Choices (1992)

pesticides

EU

pollution

EU

~ 30%

~ 20%

Future oriented approaches

LED farming

PlantLab, DenBosch

optimal pest controlno emissions

Breed or spray against ‘potato blight’

37

CIS-GENETIC MODIFICATION

only desiredgene inserted

TRADITIONALBREEDING

many genestransferred

desired gene

‘cultivated’

potato

‘wild’

potato

BREEDING PROGRAM

fungicid

e

Adapted from: P. Boonekamp et al. (2010)

Farming bots

Agro drone monitoring crop growth

Imaging result with high resultion

Rowbot, 2014

N - application

unibots.com

WeedingEUROP: European Robotics technology Platform

Pesticide by prescription using drones

39

source: drone4agro

Root microbes & plant heath

beneficial microbesBerendsen et al. (2012) Mendes et al. (2011)

BIOCOMES: New biological control

methods for sustainable farming & forestry

41www.biocomes.eu

Entomopathogenic nematodes (R-U. Ehlers)

Entomopathogenic viruses (M. Züger).

Nutrient emissions to the environment

0

40

80

120

160

200

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Gross added value

N to soil

P to soil

NH3 to air

Emissieregistratie (www.compendiumvoordeleefomgeving.nl)

index (1980=100)

Insecticide & fungicide use in the Netherlands

0

200

400

600

800

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

43

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

insecticides (x 1000 kg active ingredient)

fungicides(x 1000 kg active ingredient)

bio

logic

al contr

ol

substitution

source: www.clo.nl

…Conclusions…

Conclusions 1

Megatrends continue

Sufficient food of good quality possible

Right decisions at all levels paramount

Technical sciences offer opportunities

Conclusions 2

Developments in ecological production techniques are impressive

Sustainable systems may cause win-win-win-win situations

Best Ecological Means just started

Plant health pivotal

Ecological literacy is the basis at all levels

Best guarantee food security

Best Ecological Means: triple win

1 economically efficient

2 least detrimental for the environment

3 more space for biodiversity

4 best approaches for plant health

5 best guarantee food security

Thank you