At the recent Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), we spoke to Matthias Meissner of theWWF in Berlin.

We asked him for his views on balancing food and environmental security. He sees it as imperative, but that it should be done by encouraging capacity for farming in the developing world, rather than insisting on increasing productivity, say via the use of technology. View the full interview below.

Another interview from the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), this time with James S. Shikwati, an expert in African agriculture and Managing Director of Inter Region Economic Network (IREN), a think-tank based in Kenya that aims to develop strategies to bring prosperity to the African continent.

We asked Mr Shikwati about the prospects for African farming, the role of technology, and the aftermath of the food prices crisis last year, and he gave us some very insightful answers which generally point to a degree of optimism for the future. Highly recommended.

At the Forum for the Future of Agriculture, organised jointly by Syngenta and the European Landowners’ Organization(ELO) last week, we spoke to Alexander Sarris, Director in the Commodities and Trade Division at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

He gave us some insights into the role of technology in agriculture, the productivity gap that exists in the developing world, and how imperative it is that this gap be diminished (a process which may, in his view, involve the reduction Europe’s role as a supplier of food).

UPDATE: Blogactiv were also present at the event and spoke to Mr Sarris (click below). View all of Blogactiv’s interviews from the event by clicking here

FFA 2009: Alexander Sarris

At the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), we spoke to Ariel Brunner, BirdLife International’s EU Agriculture Policy Officer, about the importance of farmers having the right knowledge when applying technology, and the ways in which farmers can acquire this knowledge (he talks about training, incentives and regulation). He highlights that, so far, industry has perhaps played the biggest roll in providing this training to farmers, but considering their clear vested interest, others should be involved to a greater extent. View his comments by clicking below.

At the Forum for the Future of Agriculture, which we attended last week (see previous post below), we spoke to Neil Parish, a Member of the European Parliament, where he is Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Please click on the video below to hear Mr Parish’s views on the reduction of pesticides available to farmers and the effect this might have on food supply, the shift from a risk to hazard-based assessment of products, and Week without Pesticides, the annual campaign originally launched by Citizen’s Action for Pesticides’ Alternatives.

In our last interview from the Future of Agriculture series, we have to Franz Fischler, former European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, and now Chairman of the Rise Foundation, an organisation that supports rural development.

The main focus of his position on the future development of the European agricultural sector is on the prioritisation of environmental concerns above all else, which should involve the promotion of farming methods that do not require technology, as well as the reduction of what he calls “harsh” technologies, including some pesticides.

Moving on to our penultimate interview from the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), please find below our interview with Roger Waites, editor of AGRA FACTS, a Brussels-based newsletter that closely monitors EU agriculture policy.

Roger talked to us about the continued threat of the food crisis, the future of European farming policy, and agricultural productivity.

You can view a previous interview with Roger, filmed last October at the “Pesticides in Sustainable Agriculture” event.

At the recent Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), we asked Willem-Jan Laan, Director of Global External affairs at Unilever for his views on the future of agriculture and the role of technology within it. View his comments in the video below.

We have another interview from the Forum for the Future of Agriculture for you (see previous posts below), this time with Hervé Morize, Chairman of the Société des Agriculteurs de France, or the French association of farmers.

Mr Morize dispels the myth that productivity and protection of the environment can not go hand in hand, using the example of seed production, and proceeds to give his views on the future of European agriculture more broadly. Click below to view the interview.

At the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below) we spoke to Luca Montaranella, who is with theLand Management and Natural Hazards Unit at the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES). The IES is part of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Comission, its role being to provide scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies.

In this clip, Mr Montarenella expressed his doubt over claims made at the Forum that there was plenty more land available for cultivation of crops around the world, and spoke of his institutes’s collaboration with EFSA in an attempt to make informed science-based decisions on matters such as pesticides regulation.