acatech HORIZONS: Sustainable Agriculture

© acatech HORIZONS Sustainable Agriculture
Why Sustainable Agriculture?
When the topic of “sustainable agriculture” comes up, many people first think of the small farms producing food in organic quality. But sustainability is multi-layered and more than “just” organic. The acatech HORIZONS publication “sustainable agriculture” aims to create awareness for all aspects of “sustainability” and clarify what the terminology entails.
The high relevance of the topic for acatech stems primarily from the high degree of digitalization in today’s agriculture, which is discussed under the term “smart farming”. Technology can be used to make farm processes and the use of resources more efficient. As a result, pesticide use can be reduced and greater sustainability achieved overall.
By its very nature, farming is a complex issue in which biological, chemical, technical and lastly, social processes interact. Through the HORIZONTE format, agriculture will be highlighted in the context of its transformative potential and, in the wake of a growing world population and global warming, its increasing importance. It is a topic that, due to its social and political relevance, should be treated in an informative discourse that presents facts in a way that is understandable for all stakeholders – from farmers to politicians and consumers.
Project Group
On March 14, 2019, the project group of the third edition, acatech HORIZONTE – Sustainable Agriculture, started its work and discussed the first contents of the new publication. The publication event took place in Munich on December 3, 2019.

- Prof. Dr. i.R. Hans-Georg Frede (Leadership)
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen - Prof. Dr. Thomas Bley
TU Dresden - Prof. Dr. habil. Reiner Brunsch
Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökomie - Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Dittus
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt - Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Gerzabek
Universität für Bodenkultur in Wien - Julia Harnal
BASF - Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Thomas Herlitzius
TU Dresden - Dr. Lothar Hövelmann
Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Liggesmeyer
Fraunhofer IESE - Dr. Eberhard Nacke
CLAAS KGaA mbH - Dr. Christine Rösch
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, ITAS - Prof. Dr. Katrin Scheibner
Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg
The acatech HORIZONS Podcast
“Late Night Tech” is a podcast for everyone who is up for science, technology and community insiders. Christina Müller-Markus and Dr. Sandra Fendl from the acatech HORIZONS team talk with well-known experts about current topics. A podcast from acatech, the National Academy of Science and Engineering.
Overview: the acatech HORIZONS series
In the acatech HORIZONS series, the academy explores important technology fields that are already looming large on the horizon, but where there is still some uncertainty about their potential impacts. More
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