Sponsored by:
Future Agri-Food Systems
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TThe Future Agri-Food Systems Challenge Programme Symposium brings together two NNF Challenge Grant Centers, N2CROP (director: Stig Uggerhøj Andersen) and One Crop Health (director: Paul Neve). The symposium aims to bring new external input and inspiration to the projects, to advertise project results, and to strengthen ties with the plant science and plant breeding communities, and to advertise current project results.
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The symposium will begin with a welcome and introductions to the projects from the directors. Over the day, there will also be shorter presentations from N2CROP and One Crop Health members to highlight current research within the two projects, as well as selected talks from submitted abstracts.
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For scientific inspiration and to facilitate inter-project discussions, we have invited five keynote speakers, Cathie Martin (JIC, UK), Jonathan Storkey (One Crop Health, Rothamsted, UK), Chloe Maclaren (SLU), Fernando Geu-Flores (UCPH), and Carsten Fabricius (SEGES Innovation). You can read more about the speakers below.
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The symposium will also feature a talk on the status of GMO research in the EU (Michael Bromberg Palmgren, UCPH, and Rasmus Hjortshøj, KWS), and a panel debate with members from industry on the topic “Solving future agri-food systems challenges through public–private partnerships”.
You can read more about the speakers below.
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JIC, UK
Cathie Martin investigates how plant metabolic engineering can improve the nutritional quality, health benefits, and shelf-life of fruit and vegetables. Her work focuses on biofortification of crops with beneficial phytonutrients such as anthocyanins and resveratrol, linking plant science with clinical research to understand the impact of diet on health and chronic disease. In addition, her research explores cellular specialization in plants and contributes to developing safer, more resilient crops with reduced toxins and improved post-harvest traits.
Rothamsted Research, UK
Jonathan Storkey is a plant ecologist focusing on sustainable weed management and the design of cropping systems that balance agricultural productivity with biodiversity and ecosystem services. His research applies functional ecology to understand and predict how weed communities assemble and respond to different management practices, combining field experiments, modelling, and plant trait data. He is also closely involved in long-term experiments at Rothamsted Research, where his work has revealed how environmental changes, such as nitrogen deposition, shape plant community dynamics over time.
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Chloe McLaren is a plant ecologist whose research explores how plant–environment interactions can be leveraged to design more sustainable cropping systems, with a particular focus on smallholder farming in sub-Saharan Africa. Her work investigates how crop diversification strategies, such as intercropping and rotations, perform across different ecological and socioeconomic contexts. She combines field experiments and global analyses to understand plant interactions and their implications for food security, livelihoods, and the transition to more ecological farming practices.
Fernando Geu-Flores is an Associate Professor and Research Group Leader at the Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, specializing in the discovery and engineering of complex plant biosynthetic pathways. His research focuses on translating plant metabolism into sustainable production systems using tools from synthetic biology and biotechnology. Working at the interface of chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology, his group aims to develop innovative solutions for the sustainable production of valuable natural compounds.
Carsten Fabricius is Director of Plants & Environment at SEGES, where he works at the interface between agricultural practice, sustainability, and environmental management. His work focuses on translating research into practical solutions for farmers, supporting the development of more sustainable and resilient cropping systems. He plays a key role in bridging science, advisory services, and industry to address challenges related to climate, environment, and agricultural productivity.
The Future Agri-Food Systems Satellite Symposium is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation
