Organisation - October 10, 2012
Rector speaks at G20
Rector Martin Kropff spoke about the so-called Golden Triangle at the G20 conference on food production. The closing statement will include something about the importance of a strong agro-industry.

Big increase
After all, agricultural science is facing an interesting challenge: a big increase is required in food production. The FAO has calculated that the world will need 60 percent more food in 2050.
Maarten Kool, top civil servant at the Ministry of Agriculture, and Martin Kropff represented the Netherlands in the Meeting of G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists at the end of September. Kropff spoke about the 'golden triangle', where the government, businesses and science work together.
Bill Gates
Major agricultural producers such as the US and France also have experience with public-private partnerships, the international term for this. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is a key international player, pumping billions into development projects. Involvement of businesses is often a precondition for obtaining grants from the Gates foundation.
A paragraph on this topic has now been included in the draft closing statement. The G20 countries plus the Netherlands and New Zealand state that they will be encouraging collaboration between agricultural scientists and agro-businesses.