Prof. dr agr. Knut Schmidtke (FIBL)
BioTech 2.0 in just a week, so we are starting the presentations of BioTech 2.0 Conference speakers.
The first foreign guest and undoubtedly one of the most awarded speakers at our conference – Professor Dr. agr. Knut Schmidtke – director of research and innovation and chairman of the Executive Board of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL).
Director of Research, Development and Innovation at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture in Switzerland
From April 2020, Director of Research, Development and Innovation and Chairman of the Executive Board of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland. He became involved in science in 1984 when he began studies in agricultural sciences at the Justus-Liebig University in Gießen. He strengthened his knowledge and scientific workshop, among others, as a research assistant at the Department of Biological Production Systems at the Justus-Liebig University in Gießen, as well as a research assistant at the Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding and a University Assistant at the Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding at the University of Göttingen . In the meantime, in 1997, he obtained a PhD at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environmental Protection of the Justus Liebig University in Gießen. In 2000, he was visiting professor at the Department of Organic Agriculture at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (Austria). In 2003, he was a visiting professor at the postgraduate school in agriculture at the University of Hakkaido (Japan). For many years he was professionally associated with the University of Applied Sciences in Dresden (Germany), where he worked from 2003 as a full professor in organic farming. At this university. From 2015, he was the vice-rector for research and development at this university, successfully developing, together with his team, many innovative projects. Extensive scientific and research experience makes him a valued, international expert in the field of organic farming as well as agronomics, soil science and plant nutrition.
Lecture subject: Challenges in research and development of organic farming
Organic farming and the organic food market are expected to continue to grow strongly in the coming years, not only in the EU. At the same time, political and consumer expectations towards agriculture are growing. Preserving and improving biodiversity, climate neutral governance and expanding regional value chains are the three key challenges that will be faced. The speech will present technical and biological innovations on how efficiently organic farming can meet these challenges over the next 20 years.
