topic Research

Securing the Global Food Supply

©ThinkstockThe end of October 2011 saw the birth of the seven millionth person, and the world population will continue to grow rapidly. By 2050, there will be nine billion people on Earth.  At the same time, the amount of arable land is shrinking, and climate change is exacerbating the situation even further. Global agricultural production needs to be increased and losses reduced to ensure that sufficient food is available in the future. In addition, the demand for processed foods is growing due to evolving consumption patterns. The demand for biomass as a source of energy and materials is also set to rise.

It is important to make sure that efforts to create a "bioeconomy" - an economic model in which sustainable biological processes replace resource-intensive and environmentally harmful processes - are not at the expense of the global food supply. In many countries, there is growing competition between the different utilization concepts for agricultural biomass production, which is putting pressure on existing food supply systems. In addition, the effects of climate change are reducing the amount of arable land. Countries in Africa in which the food situation is already unstable are particularly affected.

That is why global food security is a central part of National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030. With the initiative for securing global food supply - GlobE - the BMBF is funding special measures to advance the stability and development of food security in African regions. The aim is to support the development of sustainable agriculture in African countries in order to secure a stable food supply for the local population.

Plants are fundamental to securing the global food supply and are the raw material suppliers of the future. The increase and security of plant-based production, the quality of plant-based raw material, and the sustainability of agricultural practices are global challenges that require new approaches in research and cultivation. The BMBF is supporting research in the area of plant biotechnology with a funding initiative that aims to increase the efficiency of cultivation, develop targeted and optimized plants with combined characteristics, to realize new approaches in plant protection using resistant plants, and to make plant production more sustainable in general.  The Film "Biotechnology with Plants - Explore a Growing Branch" and the brochure "Plants as Raw Materials of the Future" offer insight into current developments.

The Transnational Plant Alliance for Novel Technologies - Towards Implementing the Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy in Europe (PLANT-KBBE) is strengthening the internationalization of research activities in the area of plant biotechnology. PLANT-KBBE is a joint funding initiative of Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, and Canada. The goal is to establish and advance transnational research projects in the field of practically oriented plant biotechnology in the context of a bio-based economy.

Summer visit to Oberlimpurg

Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan learns about the work of plant breeders Stephanie and Peter Franck in Schwäbisch Hall ©German Plant Breeders' AssociationAs part of her 2011 summer tour, Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan paid a visit to the plant breeding site in Oberlimpurg (Baden-Württemberg) on 12 July  to find out more about how breeding research can help to secure the global food supply, for example in the field of soybean breeding.

Interview with Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan for World Food Day

In the context of World Food Day on 16 October 2011, Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan spoke in an interview about the importance of research for global food supply, the new BMBF initiatives dedicated to this research, and the National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030.