Boundaries: Between nature and artifice

It is often the case that, in major debates on issues of international significance, when the term ‘geopolitics’ is used, reference is made to the water crisis, environmental protection, energy security, war and migration; the issue of agriculture and food security is addressed less frequently. Yet it is here that most of the problems outlined above converge. This is all the more true in a temperate region such as the Mediterranean, which is more affected by the effects of climate change than the equatorial and polar regions.

This cannot fail to prompt reflection on the urgency of crucial issues such as agriculture, water supply, plant resilience and ensuring there is food for all. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the tendency is to address these crucial issues in a manner that is, regrettably, reactive rather than structural. There is a clear need for a change of approach. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Maghreb make the issue of raw material costs increasingly central to food security; the risk of desertification along the shores of the Mediterranean (and beyond) calls for greater technological focus to prevent disruptions to food supplies. Not to mention that food security is an issue which, in turn, spills over into the domestic politics of numerous countries, risking the exacerbation of a vicious circle of political instability. To this end, it is important to bolster the framework with modern biotechnology and recent DNA research.

History provides us with examples of how humankind is capable of improving cultivated plants. This has been practised for millennia: seeds are selected, varieties are grafted, produce of ever-higher quality is cultivated, and research into agricultural methods is carried out. Jethro Tull was an English farmer from Berkshire. Passionate about technology, around 1730 he patented what has gone down in history as the seed drill. It consisted of a seed hopper connected to feed tubes, a coulter, a series of toothed wheels that effectively regulated the release of the seeds, and a metal plate to bury the seed. Of course, the machine had its limitations, but Tull was able to recognise the importance of sowing in rows. His invention only became indispensable once the concept of intensive farming became widespread – a practice of which Tull himself was unaware.

It does, however, serve as an example of how, in some cases, the relationship between science, technology and nature is based on a paradox: the invention that outstrips its inventor. Without that machine, we would not have had the opportunity to witness the enhancement of plants and the development of genetics.

Food security in the Mediterranean and genomic technologies that improve agricultural sustainability are the topics of this episode of Confini, the programme by Sole 24 Ore TV and NextMed, broadcast every Thursday at 9.00 pm on channel 63 of digital terrestrial television, entitled Food and science, climate change and food security. The topic was discussed by presenter Simone Spetia and Claudio Antonelli, deputy editor of 24Ore NextMed, alongside Patrick Gerlich, managing director of Bayer Crop Science, Rosanna Magnano, a journalist at Radio 24, and Gabriele Cola, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Milan. The field report explores the topic of maize cultivation and the application of digitalisation to agricultural businesses.