Prime minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled a new science hub designed to boost food security by developing climate change resilient crops at the Global Food Security Summit.
The new hub will be led by CGIAR, a global research partnership which unites international organisations working on food security to make global food systems more resilient to the effects of climate change.
“We’ve already helped develop crops that are drought-resistant and even richer in vitamins,” Sunak said at the Global Food Security Summit.
“And we’re going further… launching a new UK CGIAR Science Centre to drive cutting-edge research on flood tolerant rice, disease resistant wheat and much more.”
Sunak also announced that with summit partners – Somalia, the UAE, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – the UK will apply AI to model the impact climate change on agriculture to “find ways to avoid future crises”.
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The government will also publish a new white paper on food insecurity, revealing plans on how it will work in partnership with other countries to tackle climate change and poverty rather than just providing aid money.
“We’re not just applying our aid budget to deliver results on the ground, but also Britain’s expertise in development and our leadership in science, technology and innovation,” said Sunak, revealing that the UK will also be publishing a new White Paper on food insecurity, food poverty and climate change.
World Resources Institute UK head Edward Davey wrote in the Financial Times that the summit places a “welcome emphasis on the relationship between climate change and food security.”
“At a time of global conflict, putting our energy into renewed multilateral action on food security and climate change has never been more critical,” he added.
