Collaborations for change

On a recent sunny afternoon in Zurich, a delegation of representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, and the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture visited the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich. Ismahane Elouafi, FAO Chief Scientist, and Vincent Martin, Director of the FAO Office of Innovation, were part of the delegation looking to exchange ideas on innovations for bringing needed change to the food system.

Robert Finger, Chair of the World Food System Center, and Benedikt Knüsel, ETH Office of Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations, welcomed the visitors. Martijn Sonnevelt then introduced food and agriculture research that the World Food System Center supports. The visitors then moved into the atrium of the historic LFW building to talk one-on-one with researchers.

🚜 Nina Buchmann (Grassland Sciences) and Robert Finger (Agricultural Economics and Policy) introduced their work on smart farming implementation and policy.
🌴 Johanna Jacobi (Agroecological Transitions) and Kenza Benabderrazik (Sustainable Agroecosystems) showcased research and art around the topics of agroecology and agroforestry.
🫛 Bruno Studer (Molecular Plant Breeding) and Achim Walter (Crop Sciences) tag-teamed a presentation on how research is working to accelerate breeding of pulses in Switzerland and abroad.
👩‍🔬 Next to microalgae in a bubbling reactor, Alexander Mathys, Ashley Green and Daniela Peguero (Sustainable Food Processing) explained their multifaceted work on sustainable protein sources.
🔲 Hélène Iven highlighted bringing science into practice by showcasing the Digit Soil device, which measure parameters important for soil health.

The group then discussed possible collaborations to drive change. We thank the delegation for the visit and all the scientists for sharing their work and passion with the group.