Fourth Session - 27 September 2022

Water and Agriculture: How can EU and global policy and innovation ensure long-term water and food security

 The fourth session of the Bayer Life Talks took place virtually on 27 September 2022 between 10:30 and 12:00 CEST. Further details on the topic and key themes of the event can be found below.

Overview

With such significant focus on carbon emissions reduction, water is often not part of the mainstream public discourse concerning our natural resources use. However, while Europe is largely considered to have adequate water resources, water scarcity and drought is an increasingly frequent phenomenon, and one that demands increasing attention in today’s climate change-affected world.

Water is a critical input for agricultural production and central to ensuring food security. Irrigated agriculture represents 20 percent of the total cultivated land and contributes 40 percent of the total food produced worldwide. Irrigated agriculture is, on average, at least twice as productive per unit of land as rainfed agriculture, thereby allowing for more production intensification and crop diversification. 

Currently, agriculture accounts for nearly 70% of global freshwater consumption, and with climate change, increased urbanization and the necessity to feed a global population set to grow to more than 10 billion by 2050, competition for water resources will increase significantly in the coming  decades, with agricultural production having to expand by approximately 70% by 2050 to meet  the demand for calories.

This edition of the Bayer Life Talks will look at the EU’s current approaches to water management, which are most recently addressed in the context of the Green Deal and the EU’s Circular Economy Package, and to develop the conversation around the value and role of water in Europe  and around the globe. It will reflect on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which carry a number of targets for water action as we head towards 2030, and the discussion will focus on the  tools, both policy and innovation, that can be utilised to move the water scarcity agenda forward.

Key Topics

What challenges does the evolution of modern economies pose to existing water use  and management practices both in Europe and globally? 

The UN’s SDGs 6 deals specifically with water scarcity. With agriculture so vital to the  food security agenda, but also a major water consumer, what is being done by industry  to address SDG 6, and in particular 6.4 and 6.5, which reference water management  and use-efficiency?  

How, in an increasingly unstable geopolitical and environmental context, can business  innovation help to improve the management of water resources in Europe and beyond?

How can broader public awareness of water use be improved, from the clothes we wear,  the products we purchase, through to the food we eat?

Agenda

15:00 – 15:10

Opening Remarks

15:10 – 16:15

Roundtable Discussion & Q&A

16:15

Event Close

Agenda

Note: All session timings below are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)

Water and Agriculture: How can EU and global policy and innovation ensure long-term water and food security
2022-09-27
10:30 - 10:40
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks image
Moderator: Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
10:40 - 11:00
Kick off Conversation
Kick off Conversation image
Mina Guli
CEO, Thirst Foundation
Kick off Conversation image
Moderator: Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
11:00 - 12:00
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A image
Petteri Taalas
Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A image
Pedro Gallardo
Vice President, Copa
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A image
Matthias Berninger
Executive Vice President Public Affairs, Science, Sustainability & HSE, Bayer AG
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A image
Mina Guli
CEO, Thirst Foundation
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A image
Shamiso Kumbirai Mlilwana
SDG Water Investments Specialist, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa
Roundtable Discussion and Q&A image
Moderator: Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
12:00
Event Close
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Speakers Included

Mina Guli 300
Mina Guli

CEO, Thirst Foundation

shamiso-kumbirai-300x300
Shamiso Kumbirai

SDG Water Investments Specialist, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa

Petteri Talaas 300 3
Petteri Taalas

Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization

Pedro Gallardo 300
Pedro Gallardo

Vice President, Copa

Matthias Berninger
Matthias Berninger

Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Science, Sustainability & HSE, Bayer AG

Paul-Adamson-Square.jpg
Paul Adamson

Chairman, Forum Europe 
(moderator)

Event Partners

Get in touch

For more information on any aspect of the Bayer Life Talks series, please contact us using the details below:

Joe Nott

Event Manager | Forum Europe

Tel: +44 (0) 2920 783 020 

Email: [email protected]