This project will explore how 21st century data technologies could improve transparency, safety, authenticity and traceability within the food system.
Transformative innovation across supply chains to improve decision-making
The Global Food Security programme wishes to synthesise knowledge and further understand how 21st century technology can be used to enhance agriculture and the wider food system.
Timeline of activities
Scientific rationale
Food security is not only a domestic challenge but also a global endeavour, requiring international collaboration and coordination across the whole value chain. Data technologies, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are already improving peoples’ lives, with their applications ranging from intelligent personal assistants that can forecast the weather, to systems that protect our money from criminals, and devices that offer medical advice from the comfort of our own home. How we produce, process and integrate information is critical to innovation, so AI and data have the potential to radically transform the global food system. An interdisciplinary and whole systems approach is needed across agriculture, storage, processing and manufacture, through to distribution, retail and consumption.
The Global Food Security programme is working in partnership with Defra and the Food and Drink Sector Council’s Innovation Working Group to run a workshop investigating how transformative innovation can lead to ‘business unusual’ in food supply chains. This workshop will aim to identify the food and drink sector challenges of the future and understand the inherent risks and interdependencies around data, technology and connectedness of value chains.