A presentation by Holger Meinke
Agricultural systems are undergoing rapid transformations. Consequently, there is a lot of talk about the importance of ‘innovation’. In this talk Professor Holger Meinke will unpack what ‘innovation’ means, why it is important and what role it might play in making agriculture more productive and sustainable.
Innovation can be defined as … the process that translates knowledge into economic growth and social well-being. Innovation encompasses a series of scientific, technological, organisational, financial and commercial activities…
While the World Bank defines ‘innovation system’ as: … a network of organizations, enterprises, and individuals focused on bringing new products, new processes, and new forms of organisation into economic use, together with the institutions and policies that affect their behaviour and performance.
The seminar is designed to stimulate a discussion about the role of academia in supporting the further development of our agricultural systems.
Holger has worked in crop physiology, agricultural systems, systems modelling and applied climate research since 1988. Recently he held the Chair of Crop and Weed Ecology at Wageningen University, The Netherlands (2007 – 2011); prior to that he was an internationally renowned cropping systems and climate scientist with the Queensland Government (1988 – 2007) where he co-developed the agricultural systems simulation platform APSIM. He pioneered operational climate risk management for agriculture in Australia and internationally. He is a member of two editorial boards (EJA and COSUST) and a member of the CCAFS Independent Science Panel, an international research program for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security with an annual budget of around $70 million. He published nearly 100 papers in disciplinary and transdisciplinary journals and currently supervises 5 PhD candidates. He is passionate about research that matters.