The U.S. National Science Foundation, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of Australia have pledged to back research efforts to advance emerging and agricultural technologies that would benefit food security in the Indo-Pacific region.
They hope to support multilateral research by launching an initiative called AI-ENGAGE, short for Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen AGriculturE, that will accept proposals focused on artificial intelligence, communications, robotics and sensing.
Each research proposal will require the involvement of at least three of the four nations and aim to enable farmers to address food security amid an expected increase in the global population by 2050.
“NSF is proud to lead this research collaboration for global good, with partners from Australia, India and Japan,” said NSF chief Sethuraman Panchanathan. “These projects will result in new solutions, technologies, industries and entrepreneurial ventures that will create a vibrant future for our farmers around the globe.”
Food security was among the topics discussed at a NATO Civil Protection Group Seminar in March. At that event, Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, director-general of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, called for more public-private cooperation to address risks threatening energy, food and water, health, and continuity of government services.