October 16, 2018

G2P-SOL Interview Series: Our Contribution to the World Food Day 2018
 
Each year on 16 October the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations celebrates the World Food Day to promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all.
 
The day also highlights topics such as food security, biodiversity and sustainable agriculture as major issues to be addressed in order to achieve the goal of #ZeroHunger by 2030 as reflected in the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) fixed in the United Nations Agenda 2030. Plant genetic resources, their efficient use and management play a fundamental role in this context.
 
On the occasion of this year’s World Food Day, we have asked central actors in the field to share with us their thoughts and views on the importance of plant genetic resources in light of the pressing need to end hunger and malnutrition – while at the same time facing severe global challenges such as climate change, economic slowdown and conflict.

Addressing three major questions our interview series gathers the voices from:  
  • Dr Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) / Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
  • Prof. Maria José Díez, Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Project Partner in G2P-SOL
  • Dr Gert-Jan de Boer, Manager Molecular Biology at Enza Zaden, Member of the G2P-SOL Advisory Board
  • Annette Schneegans, Senior Expert at the Research and Innovation Unit of DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
 
The G2P-SOL project (Title: Linking genetic resources, genomes and phenotypes of Solanaceous crops) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 677379.