November 24, 2020
Event recap | AI, gene editing and guaranteeing a stable seed supply
As a part of the GeoTech Center’s AgriTechAction 2020, Mr. Jeff Rowe, President of Global Seeds for Syngenta, was interviewed by Ms. Daniella Taveau, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the GeoTech Center and expert in developing global business and regulatory strategies.
Mr. Rowe first described the complexity of the seed industry and of the large chain that hides behind the production of a ‘simple’ bag of seeds. At the same time, he reinforced the importance of collaboration necessary within the industry, and the need to constantly explore potential partners as it innovates and develops new technologies.
The development of resilient seed is critical as the impact of climate change on the agriculture sector worsens, and farmers faces increasingly variable environmental conditions. These challenges put immense stress on local and global supply chains and threaten the global food supply, but developing seeds that can adapt to these more severe weather patterns is one necessary tool to mitigate these negative effects. Gene editing will be an important part of the effort to guarantee crops are not lost.
Mr. Rowe and Ms. Taveau also discussed the importance of data management innovation for crop growth sustainability. Mr. Rowe listed artificial intelligence, data science, and new algorithms as technologies with the potential to revolutionize farmers’ traditional decision-making process of deciding when, where, and what seed to plant.