What are the future trends in sustainable agriculture and food production R&D?

It’s estimated that food production will need to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed the growing global population. Yet, much of the world’s arable land is already at full capacity, with non-renewable natural resources being depleted, and crop yields stagnating or falling. Our current food production methods already contribute to 34% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, which could add nearly 1 °C to global temperatures by the end of the century, 75% of which is driven by foods that are high sources of methane: meat, dairy, and rice.

Key to meeting the challenge of feeding changing global populations in a sustainable and nutritious way is innovation in farming methods, creating more resilient food ecosystems, as well as adapting our diets to consume protein and nutrition from more sustainable sources.

Our most recent Global Challenge campaign sought cutting-edge science and technology from academic teams and biotech labs across the world, partnering them with R&D teams in companies working on aligned solutions, and accelerating the development of interventions to help address this challenge.

Food and agriculture challenge campaign

Through the campaign, we received information about 126 innovative technologies and projects being developed by teams in 65 institutes and 7 biotech companies. These projects all present promising solutions to sustainably feed global populations, including new approaches in crop science and agritech, advances in cultivating alternative proteins, and methods to make food packaging and preservation more sustainable.

Alongside the campaign, we ran a series of online partnering webinars with our campaign partners Merck, GFI Europe, Hochland, Incotec, Groupe Bel, CP Foods, and Carrot Ventures. Our partners provided us with their R&D priorities and needs relating to the challenge topic, which they were seeking new partners to address

These projects and technologies submitted to the campaign were matched to companies across the R&D network through our online partnering platform, including our seven campaign partners. We initiated over 230 new partnering conversations as a result.

From the campaign and the associated partnering webinars, we have identified three key trends in sustainable food production that have the potential to transform the way we feed our changing global populations in the future.

What are the future trends in sustainable agriculture and food production R&D

1. Plant-based fats for meat alternatives are leveling up

A trend we observed in the webinar series was the challenge of improving the appeal of plant-based proteins – improving taste, texture, and mouthfeel, while keeping manufacturing and retail costs competitive. This was a high priority especially in the plant-based ‘dairy’ products that several of our partners – including Hochland and Groupe Bel – are focusing R&D efforts on. Key to achieving this is improving fat profiles, by creating and encapsulating new plant-based fat sources that can mimic animal fats.

We received the submission of several technologies to the campaign with promising solutions to create new plant-based fat compounds, providing a more sustainable alternative to animal-derived fats. For example, a University of Leeds spin-out company MicroLub has developed plant-based protein microgels, in combination with polysaccharide hydrogels, to replicate the mouthfeel, texture, and performance of animal fat. An R&D consortium supported by EIT Food submitted to the campaign a technology presenting two nutritious dairy-alternative product prototypes (yogurt and alternative drink) based on rapeseed protein.

2. Sustainable solutions improving the resilience of staple crops

Extreme weather across the globe has been impacting crop yields, while researchers estimate demand for staple crops, such as rice, will increase by a third by 2050. There is high demand from industry for new technologies and approaches to develop climate-resilient crop strains. However, the historical approach of using chemical fertilizers to help crops resist abiotic stresses can have negative effects on crop quality, plant size, and diameter of fruits, tubers, or leaves. These fertilizers are also polluting the environment and contaminating our food with microplastics.

One of our campaign partners, Incotec, a seed enhancement company part of Croda, presented their priorities in one of our partnering webinars. They highlighted the need for on-seed solutions to mitigate abiotic stresses (primarily drought, cold, and salinity) that are also microplastic-free, biodegradable, and biobased.

In the submissions to the campaign, we saw promising alternatives to conventional chemical fertilizers. For example, researchers at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile have developed a patented mixture of natural microorganisms that improve crop yields and quality even in nitrogen-deficient environments, while at the same time reducing the reliance on fertilizers during cultivation.

3. Putting it all on the cell line

Our first partnering webinar with The Good Food Institute Europe and Merck put the spotlight on alternative proteins, especially on the exciting developments in cultivated meat and fish. The emerging ‘clean meat’ sector has enjoyed a rapid acceleration in research and innovation in the last 10 years, not least thanks to the efforts of The Good Food Institute, but our panelists identified numerous technical challenges ahead for researchers and companies working to bring these early innovations into products on the market.

One challenge identified was how to scale up the manufacturing of cultivated proteins in a sustainable and cost-effective way. The availability of good-quality cell lines at an economical price point will enable the cultivated meat industry to address many of its challenges, which include lengthy R&D timelines, increased costs, and technical limitations that hinder product development and market entry (e.g. scaling bioreactors, reducing media costs).

For example, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a non-GMO livestock cell line with exceedingly high capacity to generate mature fat cells (adipocytes) with extremely high efficiency for scaling up in culture. Biotech company Livestock Labs is using genetic engineering to create cell lines with properties in high demand from the cultivated meat industry, such as the ability of tolerate metabolic stress, suspension growth, and a reduced need for exogenous growth factors.

Through this Global Challenge campaign and partnering webinar series, we have observed trends in the development of new sustainable agriculture, crop science, and alternative protein innovations that suggest new directions for the future of food production, to help sustainably feed global populations in a changing climate. With a steadily growing global population and changing population demographics, the proliferation of more extreme weather conditions, falling crop yields, and millions of people vulnerable to food insecurity, there is an urgent need to optimize the use of valuable resources and land to ensure everyone is fed.

As in previous ‘green revolutions’, technology will play a big role in addressing these challenges. The key is ensuring these innovations are delivered sustainably and equitably. The scientific research ecosystem must continue to mobilize to advance and accelerate new solutions to feed global populations sustainably and healthily.