The world’s agriculture and food systems are not presently delivering desirable outcomes on food security and nutrition. In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted, with SDG2 committing to ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture’ by 2030. The SDGs recognized, well beyond previous global goals, the strong interconnectivity among development goals. Successful transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food systems would likely benefit from holistic and people-centred approaches that embrace a long-term vision, such as agroecology, which is increasingly acknowledged for its potential to bring about transformative changes required to meet the SDGs. The webinar series will focus on three complementary perspectives of organic matter management optimization as key components of system redesign efforts supporting transformative change and transition towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Part 1 - Organic matter management at the cross-roads: synergies and trade-offs in cross-sectoral thinking will be held on Wednesday 7 October 2020 at 3:00 – 4:00 PM (Rome Time - CET).

Organic matter contain nutrients as well as organic carbon and are often inefficiently utilized. Yet, organic matter is also distributed throughout the value chain, both as a resource as well as a waste frequently with transportation issues precluding optimized deployment. This presentation provides a discussion about new ways of cross-sectoral thinking to enhance carbon and nutrient use for multiple purposes and end use as a soil amendment.

Speaker

Johannes Lehmann, Liberty Hyde Bailey professor of soil biogeochemistry and soil fertility management at Cornell University, received his graduate degrees in Soil Science at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. During the past 20 years, he has focused on nano-scale investigations of soil organic matter, the biogeochemistry of pyrogenic carbon and sequestration in soil, and sustainable land management practices in tropical agriculture, focusing on innovative recycling of carbon and nutrients including biochar systems. Dr. Lehmann is a member of the steering group of the International Soil Carbon Network, has testified in the US congress, and briefed the President’s council of advisors. Dr. Lehmann has authored more than 250 journal publications, was named Highly-Cited Researcher by Thomson Reuter since 2014, is member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) and Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, he was named Hans-Fischer Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Technical University of Munich, and serves as editor-in-chief of the journal Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.