For this, the sixth Dialogue of the Forgotten Crops Society, Professor Sayed Azam-Ali discussed the causes of our current global food crisis and the challenges that the food system faces with Professor Tina Barsby (Scientific and Agricultural Advisor to G's Growers Ltd).
The Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis have all exposed the vulnerability of the global food system. We cannot continue to rely on the commodity crops and complex supply chains that distribute food to consumers around the world. Business-as-usual is no longer an option and research needs to play a key part if we want to preserve our planet and feed future generations with a nutritious diet. The discussion focused on the need to diversify our agricultural species, innovate our production systems, and attract a new generation of farmers and agripreneurs.
In his book "The Ninth Revolution: Transforming Food Systems for Good" Professor Ali envisions the agrifood system as a global public good in which its practitioners include a new and different generation of farmers, its production systems link novel and traditional technologies, and its activities encompass landscapes, urban spaces, and controlled environments.
Professor Sayed concluded the event with a call to action, envisioning a future in which diversification of species, systems, knowledge, cultures, and products, all contribute to create the food system that we need and deserve; sustainable, affordable, and healthy for all.
Please find the event recording here.
Professor Sayed Azam-Ali OBE
After completing a PhD in Environmental Physics at the University of Nottingham, UK, Sayed Azam-Ali worked as a Groundnut Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India, later returning to Nottingham where he became Professor of Tropical Agronomy and then Chair in Global Food Security.
In 2008, he was appointed as Vice-Provost for Research and Internationalization at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia, and in 2011 became founding CEO of Crops For the Future Research Centre (CFFRC), the world's first centre for research solely on the world’s underutilised and forgotten crops.
In 2020 he became CEO of Crops For the Future (CFF) based in Cambridge, UK. Sayed Azam-Ali is a past Chair of the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture. In 2021 he was awarded an OBE for 'services to underutilised crops and increasing global food security' in the Queens New Year's Honours List and received his award from HRH The Princess Royal at an investiture ceremony in March 2022.
Sayed Azam-Ali's`The Ninth Revolution: Transforming Food systems for Good’ available here.
Image by Aamir Mohd Khan from Pixabay.