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How we use land and feed a growing global population, and the burden we place on natural habitats in pursuit of nutrition, will again take centre stage at the annual global climate change

conference, COP29, in November. COP29 will look towards new and emerging technologies to create climate resilience in agricultural and food production systems. The Conference of the Parties

will likely try to answer these questions: How can we best use technology to provide nutrition to our global population in times of climate change? How can we do this while minimising or

reversing the impact that food production industries have on the planet? I am a plant biotechnologist who works with teams of specialists to identify and propagate plant species of superior

genes. We do this in order to meet the needs of food security and conservation in a changing climate. We look for genes that are resilient to climate change, and then work to preserve these

genes. These include endangered tree species and the under-utilised indigenous African leafy vegetables, among others. ------------------------- _ READ MORE: HOW SCIENCE CAN GENETICALLY

STRENGTHEN ENDANGERED PLANTS AND AGRICULTURE _ ------------------------- Plant biotechnologists conserve “germplasm” (important traits in plant material) in several ways. They may be frozen

and stored in liquid nitrogen (cryopreservation), or maintained in plant tissue culture. Our search has led us to ingenious solutions to increase the amount of food we can grow from

diminishing resources. For example, we’ve developed breeding programmes to generate more resistant, succulent, longer-lasting, and more fortified foods. With advancements in biotechnology,

we’re also able to modify and edit genes to fortify plants or enable them to resist pests. Artificial intelligence, however, allows us to outsource our most complex problems to machine

learning algorithms. This means we’ll be able to predict and identify valuable traits in plants far more easily, allowing us to build resilient crops that can grow in almost any climate.

Once industry adopts the research, there will be advancements in agriculture and food production systems. But I believe these technologies should not be privately owned. African governments

must lobby strongly at COP29 for artificial intelligence to be used to enhance food systems in a way that benefits the most impoverished people on the continent. HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

BOOSTS FOOD PRODUCTION Artificial intelligence offers three revolutionary advantages to agriculture and the food production industries. It enables us to: * Draw on and manage huge amounts of

diverse data about things like soil and weather conditions. We’ll be able to find out more about the responses of genes to climate changes like heat stress. Artificial intelligence will

allow us to generate new insights that humans may not have thought of alone. This will make agriculture and food production more efficient, while simultaneously reducing the adverse effects

of climate change on crops. * Automate processes and optimise workflows. For example, artificial intelligence can already be programmed to identify the amount of waste produced in

agriculture and automatically adjust the feed (for livestock) or nutrient input (for crops) to optimise resource use. * Make real-time decisions through constant feedback and monitoring. In

my view, engaging artificial intelligence in intentional, ethical and meaningful ways is our best chance to achieve food security in a changing climate. NEW, NUTRITIOUS FOODS Artificial

intelligence has also decoded some of nature’s most closely guarded secrets, like the way proteins take their unique shape. This determines their diverse functions in nature. Proteins are

the building blocks of all organisms, and thus at the heart of food production. In October 2024, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was shared among the three scientists who cracked this natural

code, and in the process developed the AlphaFold artificial intelligence platform. This allowed scientists to access the inner workings of protein chemistry, something that has eluded

scientists for decades. Using this artificial intelligence tool, scientists have already begun to design and create novel proteins for food, healthcare, and several other use cases that are

not found in nature. Scientists can now reliably predict and edit the genomes of host organisms that can be adapted to produce such proteins for food security en masse, “sustainably” in

bioreactors, on any place on Earth, and even beyond it. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NEXT The use of artificial intelligence in agriculture is already skewed across the world. This is because of

unequal access to resources, and differences in support and investment in such technologies. As it stands, and given the projected population expansion around the world, Africa could gain

the most from artificial intelligence-mediated advancements for food security. But Africa as a whole is also lagging in terms of innovation and investments in the new wave of food production

technologies. ------------------------- _ READ MORE: MADAGASCAR'S ANCIENT BAOBAB FORESTS ARE BEING RESTORED BY COMMUNITIES – WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM AI _ ------------------------- We

know that climate change affects impoverished people more than others, leaving large parts of Africa particularly vulnerable. So the governments of Africa must carry a strong message to

COP29. They must urge that advancements in artificial intelligence, as these relate to food security and climate resilience, must cater for those in greatest need. Large food corporations

cannot be left to own such essential technologies. The historical record of this is poor with respect to pricing monopoly and fair distribution. African governments must seek ways to drive

innovation, attract investment, and develop their own climate resilience technologies through artificial intelligence. These must cater for Africa’s unique contexts. The message to COP29

must be that as artificial intelligence is used to make global food production systems more efficient, it must also predict who and where vulnerable populations are. COP29 must also ensure

that there is a socially just distribution of the food surplus that new technologies will yield.