Global research ‘vital’ to ensure food security and to fight climate change

International research collaboration is vital to help scientists achieve global food security and combat climate change, say the hosts of yesterday’s Greenhouse Gases and Animal Agriculture conference in University College Dublin.

Yesterday’s event was the fifth in a series of conferences, the last of which was held in Banff, Canada in 2010. It is being organised by Teagasc and UCD, and supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the EPA and the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, and Ministry for Primary Industries. The conference continues until Wednesday.

Agriculture Minister of State Tom Hayes noted that world population is set to increase to nine billion by 2050. He added that the growing middle class in countries such as China and India, will lead to a 50% increase in demand for food production by 2030.