Grand Challenges lecture series ILAS 2016-2017 | Page 6

GRAND CHALLENGES
PESTS, PATHOGENS
AND UNPREDICTABLE
RAINFALL: GLOBAL
CHALLENGES FOR
SUSTAINABLE FOOD
PRODUCTION
PROFESSOR SUE HARTLEY
25 JANUARY 2017 | 6.30-7.30PM KEELE HALL | THE SALVIN ROOM
Even with the use of modern pesticides, around one third
of our crops, globally, are lost to pests and diseases.
The production of sufficient, safe and nutritious food is
increasingly threatened by unpredictable and extreme
weather and we face a likely 70% increase in demand
for food by 2050. In this talk, Professor Hartley explores
the interdisciplinary approaches which may provide new
sustainable methods of crop protection and improved
resilience to climate change.
Professor Sue Hartley is Director of the York Environmental
Sustainability Institute at the University of York, Chair of the
RCUK Sustainable Agriculture Research Innovation Club,
a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the
President of the British Ecological Society.
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food is increasingly
threatened by unpredictable
and extreme weather