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Introductions
NickOttens
Posts: 899 admin
Please introduce yourself to the rest of the community here. Tell us a bit about yourself, your projects and your relation to XPRIZE.
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In addition to the Future of Farming Community, I manage the Coral Restoration and Longevity communities here at XPRIZE.
If you have any community-related questions or need help, please don't hesitate to message here or email me at nick.ottens@xprize.org.
I'm based in XPRIZE's LA office but am originally from Vermont. I spent the last few years working for a non-profit consulting firm in the social impact bond / Pay for Success space; I started my career in social policy research and evaluation, followed by some time as a consultant to foundations and multinationals. Along the way I received an MBA focused on sustainable innovation which touched on a number of topics relevant for our work here on farming.
To-date my career has mostly focused on domestic social policy and I'm thrilled to have joined XPRIZE, and to have begun working on this effort around the future of farming, to pivot to focusing on global issues and breakthrough solutions.
Very excited to engage with the community here so please @ me liberally!
I'm Caroline Kolta, the associate project manager at XPRIZE. I recently received a Master's degree in Sustainable International Development with a concentration in Conflict Resolution. Before that, I worked on gender and human rights issues in the Middle East and North Africa.
I'm very excited about the Future of Farming Impact Roadmap. I look forward to working with you all to imagine out of the box breakthroughs that are necessary to tackle one of the biggest challenges of our time.
My name's Sevag Kechichian, and i'm a Research Analyst with XPRIZE.
I'll be researching and drafting much of The Future of Farming Impact Roadmap content and report. So i will most likely raise a lot of questions on this online community (a few of them will be stupid).
I'm a social scientist by training, and have participated in and led many different types of research projects in areas or on topics such as, political economy, State Theory, violent conflict, transitional justice, human rights, natural resources, and forests. While Comparative Politics was my field of specialty when i was in academia, i've also studied, taught and used multi-disciplinary research methodologies.
I look forward to learning from all of you. I'm positive that our collaboration will be fruitful and will lead to significant and impactful outcomes on the future of farming and food.
Thanks @NickOttens for the invitation. My name is Tony Mainardi. I have loosely participated in a previous XPrize a few years ago, which I enjoyed but didn't have the time to show up as well as I would have liked.
I consider myself a neo-generalist (using Richard Martin's frame). I have had a few careers, starting in hospitality. I then moved into executive protection and behavioral assessment for the better part of 15 years. Currently I work with leaders and organizations as an advisor and executive coach.
I am also the founder of Thanku Apparel (2006 - present)- a 13 year old start-up (yes still a start-up after all these years--long story!!) - which I revamped last year and I am in the process of building the core/founding team.
I am also the failed founder of another start-up called 4Moz (2006-2007) - a company based out of Mozambique whose intention was to support the health and well-being of the country and it's people thru manufacturing, farming, tourism, and safety.
Besides my company (Thanku, LLC.), I also work as a contract coach for Stagen (www.stagen.com) and their Integral Leadership Program.
I am looking forward to being a part of this community.
First I would like to thank @NickOttens and the XPRIZE team for the invitation to participate. I had only heard of XPRIZE on one or two occasions prior to the invitation, and was not aware of the scope of the XPRIZE mission. To that end, I hope I can contribute in some way.
A little about myself. I grew up in a farming/automotive community in Southern Ontario, and now live in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. My passions have always been science and environmental sustainability. My master's thesis was focused on fish physiology, and I investigated the effects of ammonia and ethinylestradiol on zebrafish. Upon graduating, I worked as a landscape labourer for nearly a year before taking a job at the University of Guelph as a research technician for their soybean breeding program. Since then I have committed myself to the agriculture industry and research therein, and after a year as an employee with the University I was offered an opportunity to pursue a PhD in Plant Breeding & Genetics (while still working as a technician), for which my project has me investigating genetic x environment interactions in an effort to identify genes contributing to yield that are stable across different climates.
As a student and staff member within the Department of Plant Agriculture, I benefit from exposure to some of the brightest minds in plant agriculture and the newest innovations in agricultural research. It is quite humbling.
I look forward to contributing in whatever way I can.
Cheers!
Please take a look around and don't hesitate to join the active discussions or add a discussion of your own.
If you have any questions or need help, just let me know.
My early career started as Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs (Executive) at Virchow Biotech Private Limited, Hyderabad which lasted a year.
Recognising the regional need, govt. the department’s earmarked 10% of their budget to the North East Region. Resulting in a North Eastern Region-Biotechnology Programme Management Cell (NER-BPMC), at Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, managed by Biotech Consortium India Limited. I served this cell for three and a half years as a Programme Manager – Agriculture.
I am currently serving as Manager (Programmes) in Program Management Unit, jointly supported by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust housed at Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), New Delhi since last five years.
I also serve as a Contributing Analyst at Wikistrat, the world’s first geostrategic analysis and crowdsourced consultancy.
I am a seasoned evaluator with nine years of progressive experience in project conceptualization, implementation strategy, monitoring and evaluation of agriculture development and nutrition portfolios to improve evidence-based decision making. Efficiently designed conceptual frameworks with monitorable milestones as reporting of findings as per country context regulations. In an official capacity, coordinated implementation and administration of Grand Challenges India (GCI) program(s) in the field of agriculture and nutrition.
Provided handholding support to partners in analyzing the local social context, developing action specific strategic plans and in the whole gamut of Project Cycle Management.
Future:
I am interested in advancing my career as a Science Administrator using my techno-commercial experience and project management skills while working in a more responsible role.
My experience and professional background is in energy, particularly energy efficiency and sustainable energy. My company, EnergyPro, exists to accelerate investment into the energy transition, particularly in energy efficiency and we have a consultancy business and an asset management business. We also have an interest in a specialised merchant bank that raises capital for sustainable infrastructure and infra-tech. Farming can definitely come into the infrastructure category and the new technologies using information, robotics and urban agriculture are all really interesting. I am interested in building platforms which can bring capital at scale to opportunities that address the SDGs and have a positive impact in multiple dimensions. Creating such a platform in agriculture would be great. I am also interested in the interactions between agriculture and energy.
I look forward to future collaborations.
Steve
I'm Macarena Dagnino Johnson, many thanks to @NickOttens for the invitation to join! I am happy to participate in the discussions and upcoming collaborations, as much as possible I can, because these days I am a full-time mommy taking care of my newborn son
About me, I am a Geographer from the Catholic University in Chile and MA in Agriculture from New Mexico State University. Most of my work experiences are in water management and food security. I also have experience working in project management for water governance, water irrigation management, global health research with international cooperation agencies, NGOs and private consultancy in Chile, The Netherlands, Ecuador and most recently, the United States.
I look forward to collaborating in topics related to irrigation management (coops for water in rural / peri-urban environments, water conservation, and water rights). I recently have moved to California, so I will more than happy to collaborate with nearby colleagues as well.
Best!
I invite you to browse around and see if there are currently any discussions ongoing that you're interested in. I will also "tag" you in discussions that may be relevant to you to ask for your thoughts.
If you have any questions or need help, please get in touch with me. You can message me here in the community or email me at nick.ottens@xprize.org.
My name is Autumn Barnes and I am an Agronomy Specialist with the Canola Council of Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta. I have a BSc in Agriculture Studies and a Diploma in Agriculture Production & Management.
I work in knowledge and technology transfer: taking research from the scientific community and sharing it with canola growers and industry. Additionally, I work with canola growers, industry and researchers to prioritize research and innovation needs which will improve the long term sustainability and profitability of canola growers in Canada. I help growers access information by creating resources and coordinating extension opportunities where they can learn about cutting edge technology that will benefit their operations.
I participated in an XPRIZE activity at the WIRED Conference in London in 2016 and am thrilled that the Future of Farming is a priority for XPRIZE.
I am passionate about agriculture and look forward to working with you all.
Thnaks to Nick Ottens for inviting me here.
My name is Lorenzo Nannetti and I'm an international relations analyst from Italy. I'm currently a Senior Analyst for a small Italian think tank and have cooperated for years with an US consulting firm dealing in future scenarios and challenges. I have dealt with political risk analysis, conflict resolution, international migration and challenges to security, which has included farming and farming-related issues.
I think these are very interesting topics to deal with and I look forward to working with you all.
I'm Guðbjörg, a production engineer from Iceland. I am currently the COO of Atmonia, an AgTech company, developing a new technology to produce nitrogen fertilizer at the farm, from air, water and electricity - with no emissions. We envision a future where each farmer produces their own fertilizer, with local renewable energy, eliminating emissions, transportations and excessive handling.
I am very passionate about a cleaner agriculture that can feed the growing population in a sustainable way and the development of smallholder farmers, where I think we have great opportunities.
Looking forward to these discussions.
If you have questions about the community or need help with anything, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.
My interest in sustainable agriculture and small farming has less to do with policy and research than family history and self-interest. I am a product of generations of small farmers--in fact, the promise of land and an opportunity to farm is the story of the family's immigration to the American colonies and westward in the United States. My brother still works the farm where we grew up.
Academically, I trained in rural sociology. Professionally, I work in the economic governance realm, mostly in finance and information technology.
My name is Kyle Bobiwash. I am an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology and the Indigenous Scholar for the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Thank you for the invite to the community.
The major goals of the research in my lab center around understanding the ecology of beneficial insects in agroecosystems and the greater landscape. Our goal is to better characterize the landscape and resources utilized by insects to understand how land management might affect insect community composition and ecological functions. Through identifying the intricacies in the relationships of insect communities with the various resources contained in their habitat we hope to improve our capacity to conserve species and develop agricultural systems that meet the needs of native biodiversity.
My teaching at the university focuses on agroecology, insect biodiversity and indigenous issues in food systems. I am also currently developing strategies to engage more Indigenous communities in surveying biodiversity on their traditional lands in order to aide them in tracking both the health of their native species and food security metrics associated with changes in abiotic and biotic variables.
If you have any questions or need help, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
My experience includes a time as an Analyst in American Foreign Policy for Congress, EPOTEC projects for UNCTAD, the U.S. EIA, TUV Suddeutschland, and other clients.
I have also continued as an expert analyst for WikiStrat.
I'll review the community regularly to see how I can comment. Best wishes in our community endeavors.
I'm Adam Bostock and I have a keen interest in science, technology, innovation, the environment and visions for the future.
I'm a fan of XPRIZEs and have participated in the design of a few (energy and forests, so far).
Thanks @NickOttens for the invite. My name is Lesley Pories, and I work at the intersection of water, sanitation and finance at Water.org. Before joining this team nearly six years ago, I worked extensively in water policy and security. I actually met Zenia Tata of XPRIZE several years ago when she spoke at the Development Dialogue in Hubballi, India, so it's fun to see have XPRIZE come back to my attention.
I have a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning, where I focused on water issues within the concentration on Land Use and Environmental Planning. I also have a Masters degree in International Relations from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where I focused on water within the International Environmental Resource Policy track. I first became interested in water issues in Uzbekistan, where I served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer for 2 years. I worked on the ground in water issues in Hubballi, India for one year. Not really related, I observed Presidential elections in Guinea, which gave me fascinating in-depth insight to what nascent countries go through in their development process.
I look forward to contributing!
Best,
Lesley
Let me tag @ZeniaTata as well.
My interest in the redesign of society was sparked by the observation that all manner of societal problems are interlocking. For example, in the matter of food production, many problems with diet and nutrition arise from lack of access to ultrafresh fruits and vegetables (i.e. picked at peak ripeness, then consumed within hours), which is itself a consequence of difficulties with growing a diversity of foods, then transporting them over vast distances, as well as storage.
A system of society can be developed that inherently incentivizes "just in time" local, automated production of diverse varieties of fruits and vegetables, via use of multi-story greenhouses and automated permaculture (anathema to many permaculture enthusiasts, for no rational reason that I can discern), along with drone and/or pneumatic tubes for distribution of such produce. Software can then be slaved to the demand for such produce (whether home cooking, restaurant, or institutional needs), enabling the "pull" of such production from plant to food preparation, rapidly and as needed.
While there will obviously be many logistical issues with developing such a system, I see nothing that is beyond the capabilities of present-day technologies. Further, recurring shortages of one foodstuff or another will be relatively easy to accommodate in diets by (1) having the menu-planning systems real-time integrated with the growing systems, such that menus would adapt as availability of ingredients shifted, and (2) when multiple such societies exist in reasonably close proximity, they can then exchange foodstuffs via automated vehiclular transportation, with little loss of freshness.
Ultrafresh fruits and vegetables provide other important dietary advantages. They deliver their full potential flavor palette and a beautiful appearance, thereby making them more attractive relative to "junk" foods. (If you have ever seen a child in Thailand delighting in an ultrafresh mangosteen, you will appreciate how such foods can naturally reduce candy consumption. You may yourself recall how a just-picked ultraripe piece of fruit or vegetable has a certain ineffable "sweetness" that makes it especially memorable.)
As I understand it, such foods also provide more of eight vital dietary "sugars", all present in a baby's diet but often missing in the diets of older people. Further, such foods contain trace amounts of umami (MSG), which is present in living animal and vegetable tissue but disappears within about a day of the organism's death. (This is why so many people regard umami as "fresh taste".)
Local production of such fruits and vegetables can be coupled with better production of meats. We are already seeing the emergence of vegan meat substitutes with equal or superior taste and mouth-feel (e.g. the Impossible Burger!) That will be further enhanced by near-term emergence of vat production of fish and other animal tissues. (An Israeli startup has targeted steaks). Once people overcome the "ick" factor ("Frankenfoods", etc.), and realize the overwhelming superiority of vat meats in terms of kindness, cleanliness, environmental impact and--eventually--cost, such opposition will begin to melt. (Ironically, the popularity of the Impossible Burger should help to acclimatize people to vat meat, which will come later.)
These are exciting times in food production and for rethinking society, generally. I am pleased to be part of a community that embraces the implications of exponential change and that is willing to question assumptions as we collaboratively design a better future for all.
I'd like to share some info from my website where I keep notes on what I'm up to https://sites.google.com/site/seymourhpg/home
I apologize for the long post, I didn't have time to make it shorter.
Considerations
#1. By 2050 we need to produce ~60% more food to feed a population of ~10 billion.
# 2 Freshwater on the planet is rapidly being depleted, polluted, or both.
# 3 Crops can be wiped out without warning by weather extremes caused by climate change. *
*The Middle East North Africa region, Syria, Yemen, and other areas of the world are running out of water. Mexico City is severely water challenged as is Cape Town South Africa. Sao Paulo Brazil, the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere was close to a severe water crisis just a few years ago, as was the state of California.
Note: Agriculture is the single largest user of surface water. When abundant rainfall refills depleted reservoirs, it gives a false impression of a return to normal. However, ancient aquifers that took eons to form are continually shrinking.
# 4 On average, a meal in the US travels 1,500 miles to the table. Our fresh food supply chain struggles to deliver produce that isn't going bad, or will go bad within a few days of arrival at a local store, or shortly after you get it home (is it any wonder your kids don't want to eat it?). Hyperlocal food overcomes these problems and it can be grown for 10 cents on the dollar or less.
# 5 Ballooning healthcare costs are directly related to declining food quality. **
**Instead of food, we're consuming "edible food-like substances" - no longer the products of nature but of food science. (Michael Pollan)
# 6 Corporations controlling our food supply are not primarily concerned with our health.
Is There a Home Grown solution to these problems?
By the end of WWII, 50% of households in the US grew 40% of the nations' produce in Victory Gardens in backyards, vacant lots, and on rooftops. This translates to a potential for something like 50 million Victory Gardens in the US today, and 1 billion worldwide. There's a lot of security and satisfaction in having a vegetable garden, but few among us have a patch of decent soil to work with, or the time for tilling, weeding, watering, fertilizing, etc.
What About Hydroponics?
Commercial hydroponic operations are popping up all over, but when will average people be able to use this technology?
Let's review the timeline of modern hydroponics:
1929 Modern Hydroponics got its start at UC Berkeley.
1940's Hydroponics was used on Pacific islands to help feed troops.
1960's Walt Disney included hydroponics in his plans for EPCOT, which is still a premier showcase of what can be done with hydroponics.
1970's & 80's Hydroponic hobby stores start opening, catering primarily to connoisseurs of cannabis.
1990's Commercial hydroponics grew rapidly, with at least one operation in the US covering hundreds of acres under glass (you in the Netherlands can stop smirking).
2000's Many hundreds of additional hydroponic hobby stores open in the US, but key technology is lacking for this to go mainstream.
2010's Technological advancements in unrelated fields, along with new inventions can now be used to create hydroponic systems suitable for average people to grow thousands of pounds of food in a typical backyard.
Tens of millions of users could adopt this advanced growing technology in the way personal computers were adopted in the 1980s.
What will it take to get hydroponics in the hands of consumers?
1. It has to be extremely easy to understand and to use.
2. It has to be cost effective. If it pays for itself in a season, it's cost effective.
3. It has to be aesthetically pleasing.
High-Performance Gardening
1. Our systems are simple enough for beginners and sophisticated enough for advanced users. They scale from very small personal gardens to commercial sizes.
2. They can grow enough of everything normally grown in a Victory Garden to be able to more than pay for themselves in a single season.
3. The systems are simple, sophisticated, elegant and durable.
Who Cares?
In the US:
42 million home gardeners (#1 hobby)
16 million vegetarians (quality counts)
31 million foodies (highest quality counts)
4 million survivalists (independence is vital)
1,600+ retail stores selling hydroponics (demand is there)
3-5 million hydroponic hobbyists (evangelists ready for better systems)
2 million raw food enthusiasts (hyper-aware of nutritional content)
Other regions of the world likely have different, possibly more urgent priorities, such as hunger, drought, political turmoil, etc.
In some regions, the current need for this technology is acute. In others, we can predict it will become more acute in the not too distant future, and mega-trends indicate demand for this technology will increase exponentially around the world for the foreseeable future. This will be true for commercial and consumer systems.
Let me know if there's anything I can do to contribute to your work in this or related areas. It will take many solutions to feed the world of 2050. I'm here to help.