Agriculture faces major challenges to deliver food security at a time of increasing pressures from climate change, social and
economic inequity and instability, and the continuing need to avoid further loss in ecosystem biodiversity. The introduction of
new EU legislation requiring farmers to reduce reliance on crop protection chemicals creates additional challenges for
maintaining levels of crop productivity. The production of more food, more sustainably, requires the development of crops that
can make better use of limited resources and must harness the potential of biotechnology in all its facets.

A launch event for the new EASAC report presented by Professor Volker ter Meulen, Past President of EASAC and
the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina as well as IAP Co‐Chair, Germany.

Conclusions and recommendations will be presented by the member of the EASAC working group
Professor Ian Crute, United Kingdom.

Professor Walter Alhassan from the Project on Strengthening Capacity for Safe Biotechnology Management in sub‐
Sahara Africa (SABIMA), Ghana will speak about crop genetics and agricultural innovation in Africa.

Followed by a panel discussion with the following experts:

•  Heribert Hirt (President, European Plant Science Organisation)
•  Garlich von Essen (Secretary‐General, European Seeds Association)
•  Tina Kyndt (Belgium Young Academy)
•  Guy van den Eede (European Commission, Directorate‐General Joint Research Centre – JRC)
•  MEP ‐ to be confirmed

The event will be followed by a reception.
For R E G I S T R A T I O N please follow this link: http://plantingthefuture.eventbrite.com/ [2].