“Food Security: One of the Greatest Challenges for Humanity”

Professor of the University of Crete F. Sarris will speak on the subject

The next one Friday, April 26 at 7:00 p.mbegins o 3rd Round of Open Talks (Openscience) by the Technology and Research Foundation (ITE) in collaboration with the H2B HUB of the Chamber of Heraklion (EBEI), at its site, in the center of Heraklion (14 Koroneou, 3rd floor), with the theme:

“Food Security: One of the Greatest Challenges for Humanity”.

This new cycle is opened by Dr. Panagiotis F. Sarris, head of the “Microbiology and Microbe-Host Molecular Interactions” group of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the ITE, professor at the University of Crete and assistant. professor at the University of Exeter (UK).

One of the most important challenges for modern man in the 21st century is meeting the nutritional needs of the planet’s population (~9.5 billion by 2050), at a time when the earth’s natural resources are decreasing dramatically. This means that any loss in food production becomes extremely significant.

Climate change, combined with intensive farming techniques, pose a serious risk to global Food Security, as they cause adverse effects on food production, such as the emergence of new plant pathogens, which cause losses that can exceed 50% of annual production important crops.

According to the UN, “Food security exists when all people on the planet have, at all times, physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and dietary preferences for an active and healthy life.” A series of recent events, e.g. the covid-19 pandemic and the impact of climate change have revealed the vulnerability of food production systems globally, as well as the fear of a global food crisis.

Today we deal with phytopathogenic microorganisms mainly by using chemicals that are not always safe for humans and the environment. This makes it imperative to develop new sustainable and environmentally friendly management strategies to minimize production losses from pathogens.

The research in the laboratory of Prof. P. Sarris focuses on the study of the molecular mechanisms of plant-microbe interaction to understand both microbial pathogenicity and the activation of innate immunity in resistant hosts.

Dr. Panagiotis F. Sarris, will answer questions such as: