Tag Archives: agriculture

Lettuce

Irrigation Water as a Tool To Reduce Pathogen Contamination

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Lettuce

A new study is taking a different look at irrigation water. Rather than investigating the water as a potential source of contamination, Channah Rock, Ph.D., with the University of Arizona, is examining irrigation water’s role in reducing potential pathogens. The data collected will be used to create a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to gauge potential pathogens risks from treated water applied preharvest. “We’re really trying to capture new data that hasn’t been shared,” said Rock.

For the CPS-funded study, “Microbiological risk assessment using QMRA in preharvest agriculture water treatment systems for leafy greens,” Rock is working with co-investigators Charles Gerba, Ph.D., and Kerry Cooper, Ph.D., both with the University of Arizona, and Kerry Hamilton, Ph.D., with Arizona State University.

The researchers are using a non-pathogenic strain of E. coli as a surrogate, and inoculating plant tissue and soil with known microbial populations. After applying irrigation water treated with common sanitizers, such as peroxyacetic acid (PAA) or calcium hypochlorite, they sample plants and soil periodically to determine pathogen die-off over time. The work is being conducted in commercial-scale university fields of spinach and Romaine lettuce.

Based on preliminary data, Rock said they found irrigation water treatment does offer a potential spill-over benefit. “What we’re seeing is water treatment does, in fact, reduce bacteria on plant tissue, leaf surfaces and the soil,” she said. “But it seems to be very dependent on how that contamination entered the field.”

Because irrigation water sanitizer concentrations may not be consistent, the researchers also wanted to measure treatment variability or “breakthrough” in commercial produce fields. To achieve this, they combined traditional water grab-sampling techniques with real-time in-line sanitizer monitoring.

Based on this work, the researchers found that most of the breakthroughs occurred during irrigation sanitizer start-up and stabilization. They plan to conduct additional sampling to determine the full range of variability. In addition, they want to document critical time periods and durations of variability that may result in loss of efficacy due to reduced sanitizer residuals.

 

Different types of food

FDA, USDA and DHS Release Review on Emergent Risks Facing U.S. Food and Agriculture

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Different types of food

The U.S. Food and Agriculture (FA) sector is facing significant risks that require improved communication and collaboration between industry and government agencies. On July 13, the FDA, USDA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the 120 Day Food and Agriculture Interim Risk Review, which provides a review of critical and emergent risks to the FA sector, as well initial mitigation strategies, factors contributing to risk and proposed actions to address risks.

Risks identified in the review include:

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, & Nuclear (CBRN) Threats. CBRN threats are defined as “hazardous contaminants such as poisonous agents including toxic industrial compounds and materials, toxins, and chemical agents and precursors; natural or genetically engineered pests and pathogens of livestock, poultry, fish, shellfish, wildlife, plants, and insects; and physical effects of nuclear detonations or dispersion of radioactive materials.”

Initial Mitigation Strategies: Prevention of CBRN incidents may be achieved through expanding and enhancing existing physical security and administrative controls, including many food defense mitigation strategies, such as control of entry systems at critical points in production, processing, storage, and transportation, surveillance of critical points, pre-employment screening, and clear marking of employees who are authorized to be at critical points.

Cyber Threats. While these are not new risks, the review notes that as the food industry increases its dependence upon technology, including the move toward automation, precision farming and digital agriculture, the likelihood and severity of a crippling cyberattack increases.

Initial Mitigation Strategies: Some FA sector entities have assessed and mitigated cybersecurity vulnerabilities through entity-specific action, using and applying the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework or other actions. Future activities should include the reviewing and securing of interconnectivities between systems. To do this, all FA sector entities, both public and private, must improve their understanding of cyber threats and vulnerabilities and reduce their gaps in protection. Future efforts in cybersecurity in the FA sector should prioritize the sharing of information about cyberattacks, research into cybertheft of food and agriculture intellectual property, FA sector dependency on the energy sector and interdependencies within the FA supply chain. The review also highlights the need for funding for a program to assist small and medium size facilities to increase implementation of effective cyber security mitigations.

Climate Change: Natural disasters and extreme weather events, limited water resources, loss of pollinators and pollinator services, and increased exposure potential to pests and pathogens are among the threats to future agricultural productivity which may be exacerbated by climate change.

Initial Mitigation Strategies: Research on environmental hazards and degradation within the FA sector should include water use, irrigation system improvements, dryland management practices, and crop system utilization. Similarly, research targeting pollinator habitat, how climate change affects pollinators, pollinator forage, and pollination rates as it pertains to crop yield, and current and emerging pests and pathogens that negatively impact the optimal health outcomes of people, animals, plants, and their shared environments to include the health of pollinators is vital to long-term crop sustainability and food security. The use of improved monitoring systems, predictive modeling to inform surveillance, early warning systems, and better control options can help reduce the risk of pest and disease agricultural damage due to climate change.

Potential Factors Contributing to Risk

A “potential factor contributing to risk” is defined in the review “as features or operational attributes that render an entity open to exploitation or susceptible to a given hazard.” These include:

  • Food and Agriculture Industry Consolidation
  • Input Shortages, including labor, energy, IT/data, and consumables.
  • Aging and Insufficient Transportation Infrastructure
  • Trade Disruptions
  • Foreign Acquisition
  • Gaps in Preparedness

Proposed Actions

The FDA, USDA and DHS developed a timeline of proposed actions, which includes short-, mid- and long-terms strategies to enhance strategic planning, understanding of FA sector risks, and information sharing and engagement. Next steps include:

Threat Assessment: Identify potential actors and threats, delivery systems, and methods that could be directed against or affect the FA sector. (60 days and annually thereafter)

120-Day FA Risk Review: Identify risks to the FA sector from all hazards, identify activities to mitigate risks categorized as high-consequence and catastrophic, identify steps to improve coordination and integration across the FA sector, inform ongoing development of the Federal Risk Mitigation Strategy. (120 days)

Vulnerability Assessments: Identify vulnerabilities within the FA sector in consultation with state, local, tribal, and territorial (FSLTT) agencies and private sector partners. (180 days)

Risk Assessment: Prioritize by the highest risks for the FA sector, implement benchmarking off of results generated from the CBRN Strategic Risk Assessment Summary. The first draft would focus on CBRN and cyber threats with later iterations to include other threats (e.g., energy disruption, pandemics, catastrophic weather events, consequences of climate change). (365 days)

Risk Mitigation Analysis: This will include high-level actions for mitigating threats, a proposed timeline for their completion and a plan for sharing information. The analysis will identify strategies, capabilities, and areas of research and development that prioritize mitigation of the greatest risks as described in the risk assessment, and include approaches to determine the effectiveness of national risk reduction measures. (545 days)

A Unifying Food and Agriculture Community Architecture

Recognizing the need for improved coordination and communication, and an over-arching framework to direct and maintain a consistent

approach to preparedness and response to high-consequence and catastrophic incidents within the FA sector, the review also includes a proposed “Food and Agriculture Resilience Architecture.”

The proposed Architecture represents an “integrated, whole-of-community and whole-of-government system of stakeholders and capabilities” approach to strengthening the readiness and resilience of FA sector.

 

 

USDA Logo

USDA Launches “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program”

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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USDA Logo

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced a $262.5 million investment to foster the next generation of diverse agricultural professionals across the nation. This program is funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to lower costs for American families, expand access to markets to producers from all backgrounds and communities, build a clean energy economy and strengthen American supply chains. The $262.5 million investment will provide training and support to more than 20,000 future food and agricultural leaders through 33 project partners.

“Each generation of agricultural professionals faces new challenges as we feed our world’s growing population, and the future generations give me hope that we will rise to the occasion to meet these challenges with opportunity,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We need to ensure our youth have the education and training they need to accelerate the development of an agricultural system that is climate-smart, sustainable, profitable and equitable. This historic investment from the Biden-Harris Administration in our nation’s Minority-serving Institutions brings us closer to building a workforce that represents the richness and diversity of all the communities we serve.”

From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program” (NextGen) will enable eligible institutions of higher learning to build and sustain the next generation of food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences workforce. This includes efforts to strengthen USDA’s workforce through enhanced educational support, experiential learning and exposure to early career opportunities. Eligible institutions include: 1890 Land-grant Universities, 1994 Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSI), Alaska Native-serving and Native Hawaiian-serving Institutions and institutions of higher education located in the insular areas, as well as their partners.

“The vision we have at NIFA is to feed and nourish all Americans and create economic opportunity for more American families. Equity and diversity are the two central elements in this vision. One goal of the NextGen program is to identify, inspire and prepare our youth, particularly in underrepresented communities, to be the next generation of hunger fighters and agricultural problem solvers. This is the right thing to do and the right time,” said NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra.

Each project will be funded for a period of five years. Examples of awarded projects include:

1994 Tribal Land-grant Institutions

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College’s project is a collaborative effort between Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and Leech Lake Community College, bringing together two 1994 Land-grant Colleges to build sustainable educational and experiential systems to prepare Tribal college students to enter agricultural and STEM workforces. ($9 million)

Hispanic-serving Institutions

Luna Community College (LCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution in Las Vegas, New Mexico, will implement the Luna Initiative for Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences (FANH)Training and Education (LIFTE) Project, which will address recruitment, enrollment and retention issues of students pursuing academic degrees or noncredit training programs in the Luna Agriculture and Natural Resource Development Center. LIFTE will also expand its training of FANH professionals to increase the workforce required to restore, re-build and re-invigorate forests, farm/range lands and waterways catastrophically damaged during the worst wildfire in New Mexico history, which occurred within LCC’s serving area in the summer of 2022.

1890 Historically Black Land-grant Institutions

North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, in partnership with Tuskegee University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Virginia State University, Florida A&M University, Fort Valley State University, University of Maryland at Eastern Shore, and North Carolina State University will implement the “System Approach to Promote Learning and Innovation for the Next GenerationS (SAPLINGS)” of Professionals and Leaders in Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences program with a goal of training 6,134 grade 5-12 students, 326 grade 5-12 educators, and 5,871 college students; reach 980 families; engaging more than 30 partners; and enhancing underrepresented minority student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates at 1890 LGUs to grow the next generation of diverse workers, leaders, and innovators for food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences (FANH) careers.

To track and report the benefits and impacts of the NextGen program, NIFA is partnering with the Intercultural Development Research Association. In addition to this effort, USDA announced the release of two new public dashboards allowing users to access high-level data about agricultural research funding investments and applicants to track the status of their grant applications.

 

Logos

FoodChain ID Acquires Lexagri

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Logos

FoodChain ID, a provider of technology-enabled food safety quality and sustainability solutions, has acquired Lexagri International, a company that focuses on verifying, harmonizing, structuring and distributing global agricultural data.

“Lexagri’s services are focused on data enhancement, and their data harmonization processes transform raw, untreated agricultural data into standardized, validated and accessible data sets,” said Brad Riemenapp, CEO of FoodChain ID. “This expands FoodChain ID’s scope of regulatory and compliance content into crop protection and brand registration data, allowing us to serve our food customers even more effectively and to strengthen our reputation as a trusted source of data-driven, actionable insights from farm to fork.”

Lexagri’s Homologa is the largest pesticide database in the market with over 33 million entries including Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) data, logistics data and Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). The company’s PhytoScan mobile app offers an integrated label scanner for on-farm use that provides immediate access to up-to-date product regulatory and safety information to enhance compliance at the farm level.

Other products include Basagri and Phytodata, which are reference data sources for crop protection information in France that compare and contrast registered and certified data, and Agrowin, a service package for top tier chemical companies allowing them to analyze crop protection and seed market data providing access to harmonized and consolidated global agricultural market data.

“Lexagri’s aim has always been, and continues to be, to become the global harmonized reference provider of regulatory crop protection data for the industry, digital farming and the food chain,” said Fritz Schuster, CEO of Lexagri. “The upcoming integration of Lexagri with FoodChain ID will be another step in this direction. We will be able to enhance the link between ‘farm and fork’ through an easier data flow and more transparency.”

 

Farmer in Madagascar

FAO Director: Immediate Efforts Needed to Reduce Global Threats to Agrifood Systems

Farmer in Madagascar

The challenges undermining global food security call for a complex approach embracing investment, policy reforms and better use of resources, Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) told a key meeting of the G20 on July 10.

“Recent global events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the climate crisis, multiple conflicts around the world and the war in Ukraine, have all heavily affected agrifood systems in multiple ways,” Qu told the G20 Sherpa meeting of senior government representatives.

Qu cited the recently launched 2022 edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report, which confirms that world hunger increased again in 2021, reflecting growing inequalities across and within countries. It says 828 million people suffered from hunger in 2021, an increase of 46 million from 2020 and 150 million from 2019 before the pandemic.

The war in Ukraine has added to an already challenging situation and could lead to an increase of 13 million more chronically undernourished people this year, and 17 million more in 2023, according to FAO estimates.

Another global challenge is rising inflation, with world food prices increasing since mid-2020 due to many factors. FAO calculates that the increase in the food import bill for the 62 most vulnerable countries amounts to $24.6 billion in 2022, and it affects 1.79 billion people.

In response to this growing challenge, FAO has developed a proposal for a global Food Import Financing Facility, which aims to assist countries in financing their food purchases to minimize any risk of social unrest. “This proposal should be implemented by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) under their balance of payments financial mechanism,” the FAO Director-General urged.

Among the other challenges, average fertilizer prices have increased significantly, almost tripling since mid-2021, together with rising energy prices. Changes in trade routes and current constraints will further increase the global fertilizer price. If countries producing major food staples, such as rice, are not able to get enough fertilizers in the upcoming planting season, this could affect the global supply of food, said Qu.

Trade reduction and interruption of the supply chain are of major concern, the Director-General added. At the end of May, 22 countries had implemented export restrictions through 39 measures ranging from bans to export taxes affecting almost 16% of agricultural exports, on a kilocalorie basis.

Package of Measures Needed

To address these challenges, Qu said the international community needs to implement a package of measures that include:

  • Invest in countries most in need that are most affected by the increase in food prices. In addition to providing timely food aid, focus on boosting productivity by paying more attention to producing nutritious food locally. Currently only 8% of all food security funding in emergencies goes to assist agricultural production. Investing in agriculture and rural livelihoods is strategic, and 7 to 10 times more cost-effective than traditional assistance.
  • Put policies in place that both increase productivity and protect natural resources, and that are specific to regional needs. Transforming agrifood systems to deliver healthy, nutritious diets, and with more equitable outcomes, will require significant financial investment, estimated at 8% of the size of the agrifood market. Accelerate the African Continental Free Trade Area by speeding up the normative work on food safety standards, and by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Intraregional trade as well as investment should be accelerated in all regions of the world.
  • Ensure better and more efficient use of available outputs and inputs to produce more with less. This must include water, as water stress remains a priority, with 1 billion hectares of agricultural land facing severe water constraints; 800 million hectares of rainfed cropland and pastureland severely affected by recurring drought. Use the best available technologies and regulations for efficient gains in the way we use water in agriculture. Reducing food loss and waste is key, as the current high amounts of loss and waste could feed around 1.26 billion people per year. Fertilizers also need to be used more efficiently, with the aid of technology and science based re-distribution of applications across the production process, supported by fast implementation of detailed soil maps to assist the most vulnerable countries to use their fertilizers efficiently.

“It is critical to facilitate the smooth functioning of global food markets and to secure food supply for all,” Qu said.

Wheat

USDA Accepting Applications for Bioproduct Pilot Program 

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Wheat

On June 28, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for a new pilot program created under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the development of biobased products that have lower carbon footprints and increase the use of renewable agricultural materials, creating new revenue streams for farmers.

Under this program, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) can award up to $10 million, divided among the highest rated applications that include eligible universities and private-sector partners.

“This pilot program is a critical part of USDA’s commitment to enhancing the circular economy and providing additional revenue streams for farmers. This program will help farmers take field residues and waste products and turn them into value-added products that create wealth and drive economic development in rural areas,” said Vilsack.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided funds for sustainable bioproduct manufacturing for construction and consumer products. The statute directs USDA to partner with “not less than one institution” to study the benefits of using materials derived from a very broad definition of “covered agricultural commodities.”

More information on this funding opportunity can be found on the NIFA website. The USDA NIFA is also hosting an informational webinar for those interested in applying for funds on July 14 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Central Time. To register, visit the Bioproduct Pilot Program Informational Webinar page.

 

 

 

Poulty Farmer

USDA NIFA Invests in Meat and Poultry Agriculture Workforce Training and Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Poulty Farmer

On May 26, 2022, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of $25 million, as part of the American Rescue Plan for meat and poultry agriculture workforce training. NIFA will invest $25 million through new and existing workforce development programs to provide a pipeline of well-trained workers to meet the demand increased independent processing capacity.
“These investments will enhance equity and capacity across the food supply chain by supporting meat and poultry research, education and training at the local level. USDA will leverage its robust regional education and extension networks and establish new, or supplement existing, Centers of Excellence at Minority-serving Institutions to support this capacity-building effort,” said Acting NIFA Director Dr. Dionne Toombs. “Workforce training will increase the resiliency and competitiveness of our local and regional supply chains and support the industry’s urgent need for highly skilled talent to meet labor demands across the country.”

The investment includes two funding opportunities:

  • Extension Risk Management Education and Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Programs: An investment of $5 million will be split equally between Extension Risk Management Education and Sustainable Agriculture Research Education programs. Work in these programs will support development of meat and poultry processing training and educational materials for place-based needs, particularly relevant to small- or medium-sized farmers and ranchers. Additionally, training local and/or regional meat and poultry workers presents a unique opportunity to address the demand from niche markets, like mobile processing units fulfilling market demand from fresh markets, on-site processing, farm-to-fork (restaurateurs), boutique grocers and others.
  • Community/Technical College Ag Workforce Training and Expanded Learning Opportunities: This Agricultural Workforce Training (AWT) investment makes available $20 million to qualified community colleges to support meat and poultry processing workforce development programs. The AWT program seeks to develop a workforce ready for the field as well as industry jobs in the food and agricultural sectors. By creating new workforce training programs, or expanding, improving, or renewing existing workforce training programs at community, junior, and technical colleges/institutes, this program will expand job-based, experiential learning opportunities, acquisition of industry-accepted credentials and occupational competencies for students to enable a workforce for the 21st century.

The NIF also announced an investment of more than $5 million to mitigate antimicrobial resistance across the food chain. “Pathogen resistance to antimicrobials is a complex problem, encompassing human medicine, poultry and livestock health, and even plant crop production,” said Dr. Toombs. “The projects supported through this investment will work to ensure a safe, nutritious and abundant food supply while conserving antimicrobial effectiveness.”
This investment is part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain grant program, which supports integrated research, education and extension projects. Research approaches include risk assessment, antibiotic management and stewardship, advancing understanding of emerging resistant pathogens and their mechanisms for resistance, and disease control using antimicrobial alternatives. NIFA’s work contributes to the overall federal strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance as described in the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria National Action Plan 2020-2025.

Nine projects are being funded, totaling $5,117,165. Examples of the funded projects include:

  • Scientists at the University of Florida will study the effects on naturally occurring bacteria when citrus greening disease-infected trees are sprayed with antibiotics to characterize development of antimicrobial resistance. ($299,999)
  • Scientists at the Iowa State University of Science and Technology will model the movement of bacteria through different environments, such as surface and subsurface water, as a route for bacterial movement from animal and human waste to plant crops. ($1,000,000)
  • Scientists in Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University will study the movement of auctioned male calves through the market to better understand the use of antimicrobial drugs to prevent and treat disease. ($999,938)

To sign up for notifications of these and other NIFA funding opportunities visit the NIFA Funding Opportunities page.

 

 

EPA logo

EPA Stops Use of Pesticide Deemed Harmful to Children

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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EPA logo

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will no longer permit the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food. The organophosphate insecticide, which is used on fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower, row crops and other agriculture, has been linked with neurotoxicity in children.

“Today EPA is taking an overdue step to protect public health. Ending the use of chlorpyrifos on food will help to ensure children, farmworkers, and all people are protected from the potentially dangerous consequences of this pesticide,” said Administrator Michael S. Regan in an agency news release. “After the delays and denials of the prior administration, EPA will follow the science and put health and safety first.”

The EPA also issued a Notice of Intent to Cancel under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to cancel registered food uses of the pesticide.

Alert

15 Food, Beverage and CPG Groups Implore President Trump for COVID-19 Vaccine Priority

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Alert

Last week 15 organizations within the food and beverage, agriculture, retail and consumer packaged goods industries penned a letter to President Trump requesting priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine once it is distributed.

“Our members have been on the front lines of the response to the pandemic by continuing operations and ensuring Americans have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food. Challenges have taxed the food supply chain over the past eight months, but the food, agriculture, manufacturing, and retail industries are resilient, and the supply chains have not broken,” the letter, which is posted on the United Fresh Produce Association’s website, states. “Once a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed, it is imperative that we have a federally orchestrated vaccine distribution program and prioritization of vaccination among population groups.”

The letter was submitted by the following organizations and associations:

  • American Bakers Association
  • American Frozen Food Institute
  • Consumer Brands Association
  • FMI – The Food Industry Association
  • Global Cold Chain Alliance
  • International Dairy Foods Association
  • National Automatic Merchandising Association
  • National Confectioners Association
  • National Grocers Association
  • National Restaurant Association
  • North American Millers Association
  • North American Meat Institute
  • Peanut and Tree Nut Processors Association
  • SNAC International
  • United Fresh

The letter also urges President Trump to activate the roadmap laid out in the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations as soon as possible to facilitate “widespread and sustained acceptance of vaccinations.”

Salim Al Babili, Ph.D., KAUST
Food Genomics

To Boost Crop Resilience, We Need to Read Our Plants’ Genetic Codes

By Salim Al Babili, Ph.D.
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Salim Al Babili, Ph.D., KAUST

In just 30 years, worldwide food production will need to nearly double to feed the projected population of 9 billion people. Challenges to achieving food security for the future include increasing pressures of global warming and shifting climatic belts, a lack of viable agricultural land, and the substantial burdens on freshwater resources. With the United Nations reporting nearly one billion people facing food insecurity today, our work must begin now.

A key research area to meet this crisis is in developing crops resilient enough to grow in a depleting environment. That’s why we need to search for ways to improve crop resilience, boost plant stress resistance and combat emerging diseases. Researchers around the world, including many of my colleagues at Saudi Arabia-based King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), are exploring latest genome editing technologies to develop enough nutritious, high-quality food to feed the world’s growing population.1

Where We’ve Been, and Where We Need to Go

Farmers have been genetically selecting crop plants for thousands of years, choosing superior-looking plants (based on their appearance or phenotype) for breeding. From the early 20th century, following breakthroughs in understanding of genetic inheritance, plant breeders have deliberately cross-bred crop cultivars to make improvements. In fact, it was only a few decades ago that Dr. Norman Borlaug’s development of dwarf wheat saved a billion lives from starvation.

However, this phenotypic selection is time-consuming and often expensive—obstacles that today’s global environment and economy don’t have the luxury of withstanding.

Because phenotypic selection relies on traits that are already present within the crop’s genome, it misses the opportunity to introduce resilient features that may not be native to the plant. Features like salt tolerance for saltwater irrigation or disease resistance to protect against infections could yield far larger harvests to feed more people. This is why we need to explore genome editing methods like CRISPR, made popular in fighting human diseases, to understand its uses for agriculture.

What Our Research Shows

We can break down these issues into the specific challenges crops face. For instance, salt stress can have a huge impact on plant performance, ultimately affecting overall crop yields. An excess of salt can impede water uptake, reduce nutrient absorption and result in cellular imbalances in plant tissues. Plants have a systemic response to salt stress ranging from sensing and signaling to metabolic regulation. However, these responses differ widely within and between species, and so pinpointing associated genes and alleles is incredibly complex.2

Researchers must also disentangle other factors influencing genetic traits, such as local climate and different cultivation practices.

Genome-wide association studies, commonly used to scan genomes for genetic variants associated with specific traits, will help to determine the genes and mutations responsible for individual plant responses.3 Additionally, technology like drone-mounted cameras could capture and scan large areas of plants to measure their characteristics, reducing the time that manual phenotyping requires. All of these steps can help us systematically increase crops’ resilience to salt.

Real-world Examples

“Quinoa was the staple ‘Mother Grain’ that fueled the ancient Andean civilizations, but the crop was marginalized when the Spanish arrived in South America and has only recently been revived as a new crop of global interest,” says Mark Tester, a professor of plant science at KAUST and a colleague of mine at the Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA). “This means quinoa has never been fully domesticated or bred to its full potential even though it provides a more balanced source of nutrients for humans than cereals.”

In order to further understand how quinoa grows, matures and produces seeds, the KAUST team combined several methods, including cutting-edge sequencing technologies and genetic mapping, to piece together full chromosomes of C. quinoa. The resulting genome is the highest-quality quinoa sequence to date, and it is producing information about the plant’s traits and growth mechanisms.4,5

The accumulation of certain compounds in quinoa produces naturally bitter-tasting seeds. By pinpointing and inhibiting the genes that control the production of these compounds, we could produce a sweeter and more desirable crop to feed the world.

And so, complexity of science in food security increases when we consider that different threats affect different parts of the world. Another example is Striga, a parasitic purple witchweed, which threatens food security across sub-Saharan Africa due to its invasive spread. Scientists, including my team, are focused on expanding methods to protect the production of pearl millet, an essential food crop in Africa and India, through hormone-based strategies for cleansing soils infested with Striga.6

Other scientists with noteworthy work in the area of crop resilience include that of KAUST researchers Simon Krattinger, Rod Wing, Ikram Blilou and Heribert Hirt; with work spanning from leaf rust resistance in barley to global date fruit production.

Looking Ahead

Magdy Mahfouz, an associate professor of bioengineering at KAUST and another CDA colleague, is looking to accelerate and expand the scope of next-generation plant genome engineering, with a specific focus on crops and plant responses to abiotic stresses. His team recently developed a CRISPR platform that allows them to efficiently engineer traits of agricultural value across diverse crop species. Their primary goal is to breed crops that perform well under climate-related stresses.

“We also want to unlock the potential of wild plants, and we are working on CRISPR-guided domestication of wild plants that are tolerant of hostile environments, including arid regions and saline soils,” says Mahfouz.

As climate change and population growth drastically alters our approach to farming, no singular tool may meet the urgent need of feeding the world on its own. By employing a variety of scientific and agricultural approaches, we can make our crops more resilient, their cultivation more efficient, and their yield more plentiful for stomachs in need worldwide. Just as technology guided Dr. Bourlag to feed an entire population, technology will be the key to a food secure 21st century.

References

  1. Zaidi, SS. et al. (2019). New plant breeding technologies for food security. Science. 363:1390-91.
  2. Morton, M. et al. (2018). Salt stress under the scalpel – dissecting the genetics of salt tolerance. Plant J. 2018;97:148-63.
  3. Al-Tamimi, N. et al. (2016). Salinity tolerance loci revealed in rice using high-throughput non-invasive phenotyping. Nature Communicat. 7:13342.
  4. Jarvis, D.E., et.al. (2017). The genome of Chenopodium quinoa. Nature. 542:307-12.
  5. Saade. S., et. al. (2016). Yield-related salinity tolerance traits identified in a nested association mapping (NAM) population of wild barley. Sci Reports. 6:32586.
  6. Kountche, B.A., et.al. (2019). Suicidal germination as a control strategy for Striga hermonthica (Benth.) in smallholder farms of sub‐Saharan Africa. Plants, People, Planet. 1: 107– 118. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.32