Thinking beyond Production – Value Chains, Interactions and Complexities in Food Systems
Wednesday, 15. October 2014 | 14:00 Uhr
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Ian Roberts, Head of Corporate Technology at der Bühler stressed that for food security to be sustainable, resource efficiency must be improved. The loss of food must be reduced. The same applies to energy which is needed to produce food.
In his presentation, he specifically addressed improved agricultural conditions, which would mean higher yields for farmers: „Increasingly more farmers are joining forces and establishing farming collectives to achieve an appropriate size,“ he added. However, in these cases the focus is not sufficiently placed on the creation of sustainable value chains.
The economic sector plays a key role in making sustainable value chains possible. Supporting collaborations ensures that all stakeholders along the value chain are able to establish independent, sustainable enterprises.
In his presentation at the Academia Engelberg Foundation’s 13th Dialogue on Science he demonstrated how successful cross-sector cooperation and public private partnerships could support developments in the food industry, particularly in Africa. He also highlighted the main challenges of the future.
Ian Roberts
2013 – present: Board of Directors of Partners in Food Solutions
2011 – present: CTO Bühler
1996 – 2010: Nestlé S.A.
• June 2003 – March 2006: Internal Operations Consultant, Headquarters,Switzerland
• April 2006 – December 2008 Innovation Director Nestlé Mexico
• January 2009 – September 2010 Innovation Director Nestlé
• August 2010 – January 2011 Head of Food Science and Technology Research
1988 -1996 University of Wales, Swansea
• PhD, Msc, BEng, Fluid Mechanics, Rheology, Chemical and Biochemical engineering, Food
