Agriculture must produce enough healthy food while reducing its impact on the climate, protecting biodiversity and improving water quality. According to Lisbeth Henricksen, CEO of SEGES Innovation P/S, this is one of the greatest transitions of our time. At Nordic Agro Summit, she will discuss how new technology and collaboration can help agriculture move forward.
For Henricksen, there is no single challenge that agriculture needs to solve. Food production must meet demand, but progress must also take account of the climate, animal welfare and the natural world. Because these issues are interconnected, innovation, new knowledge and collaboration are needed across the entire value chain.
Technology meets farmers’ experience
Henricksen believes technological developments will be particularly important over the next five to ten years. Artificial intelligence, data, sensors, precision technologies and new biological solutions could make it possible to use resources more efficiently and precisely.
But technology cannot work in isolation. Henricksen sees a future in which technological and biological advances are combined with farmers’ practical experience. This will make agriculture more knowledge-intensive – and means new solutions must work in everyday practice.
Productivity and sustainability need not be at odds
Henricksen wants to challenge the idea that high productivity and sustainability must be opposing goals. Innovation has made it possible to achieve progress in several areas at once before, she says. The transition is therefore not about choosing between production and the environment, but about developing solutions that strengthen both.
In her work, she has also encountered a greater willingness to change among farmers than public debate sometimes suggests. Many are curious and ready to try new approaches. To turn that willingness into results, however, they need sound knowledge and practical tools. According to Henricksen, farmers’ expertise is a powerful driving force.
From possibilities to action
When Henricksen speaks at Nordic Agro Summit, she hopes participants will leave with both knowledge and the determination to act. The challenges are considerable, but she points out that many of the tools needed to build a more sustainable, competitive and resilient food system already exist. The next step is to put them to use together – across the boundaries between different players in the value chain.
