U.S. envoy lists four factors for producing safe food in 21st century

United States envoy to India Richard Verma on Monday listed four factors for producing safe food in the 21st century.

Addressing faculty and students of the Coimbatore-based Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Ambassador Verma said, "First, we need to work together to create a holistic framework to tackle these challenges. Second, as two of the world's largest agricultural producers, the United States and India should not only collaborate on the research front, we need to work together to ensure global trade continues to bring food security and prosperity to the rest of the world. Third, in looking ahead to new research frontiers in agriculture and the kinds of innovative food production technologies that will allow us to meet global demand, we need to acknowledge the importance of agricultural biotechnology. Finally, let's not shy away from having difficult discussions together, especially with regard to both of our government's role in promoting agriculture."

Ambassador Verma further said agriculture was an area vital for the future of the human race, and lauded the students of the university for striving to come up with some innovative technologies, business opportunities, and possibilities to contribute to the well-being of the planet.

Maintaining that TNAU faculty and students were engaged in this field at a pivotal time, he said there were challenges the world is facing to ensure that it produces enough safe, affordable, and widely available food in the 21st century.

"According to the UN, by 2050, the world's population will reach 9.1 billion. In order to feed this larger, more urban, and more prosperous population, food production must increase by 70 percent. This will require a significant investment in agricultural research. We will need innovative, new technologies to improve yields, enhance productivity, and strengthen supply chains and storage systems. We will also need to encourage the sustainable use of our land and water resources. And, of course, we must address the challenges posed by climate change," Ambassador Verma said.

"I firmly believe that by investing in agriculture, working together, and harnessing our unique strengths, the United States and India will be able to address many of the challenges that both our countries and the world face. In fact, we have a rich history of furthering human progress together," he added.

Take the example of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, who is credited with breakthroughs in high yield rice and wheat that led to India's Green Revolution and helped change the course of human history, Ambassador Verma recalled that Dr. Swaminathan had studied at the University of Wisconsin and collaborated with the famous U.S. researcher, Dr. Norman Borlaug, whose research on wheat helped catalyze the Green Revolution.

He said that after Dr. Borlaug received his Nobel Peace Prize, he created the World Food Prize. The first recipient to receive that award was Dr. Swaminathan. Since then, six more Indian researchers have received the World Food Prize.

"Let's continue to debate and try to learn from each other. We are firmly committed to working with India in the WTO and other venues to agree to appropriate support programs that facilitate innovative research, strengthen rural economies, link to the global economy, and address food security, food safety, and sustainability concerns," he added.

He concluded by saying that the recommendations that he had laid out were unreservedly optimistic and ambitious, but firmly believed that if both nations continued to expand agricultural cooperation, the world, will be stronger.