Indiana, Fostering a Culture of Agriculture Innovation
The first of its kind conference held last week brought together Indiana’s top agriculture, technology, and life sciences leaders to discuss fostering a culture of agricultural innovation in our state. The Ag Biosciences Innovation Conference, sponsored by AgriNovus, was designed to bring very different players, from diverse sectors of the state, to collaborate on innovative ideas in agriculture. Keynote speaker at the event Julie Borlaug, granddaughter of Norman Borlaug, said it is vital that agriculture begin to interact with other industries and technologies to foster the kind of innovation we will need to increase food production, “We in agriculture spend a lot of time talking to ourselves, so it is great when an event like this brings together outside groups to focus on agricultural innovation.” She told HAT that a more holistic approach is needed to address the world’s food production problem.
Borlaug said the kind of innovation that will increase food production will not come from within agriculture, but will be a collaborative effort with many different technologies, “It is going to take engineers, and robotics, and computer science, and many others to address the issues we face in agriculture.” She added that even biotechnology will need to embrace other sectors of the life sciences.
