NASA Acres goes to the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London

June 6, 2023 - Written By Nicole Pepper

Photo of Alyssa Whitcraft, of NASA Acres, during her Lightning Talk at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit.

This week Dr. Alyssa Whitcraft, Executive Director of NASA Acres, attended the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London. The Summit brings together 900 senior decision makers from across the agri-food sector, including agribusinesses, food brands, farming co-operatives, policymakers, investors, and startups. The event investigates what is needed to spark critical action and build a more sustainable food system.

At the conference, Dr. Whitcraft gave a Lightning Talk on her work with NASA Acres, NASA Harvest, and Harvest Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture (SARA) Initiative and chaired a panel on "Measuring and Monitoring Soil Health to Build Sustainable Farming Practices".

The panel featured Ben Makowiecki, Sustainability Director and Agriculture Sustainability Lead at Lloyds Banking Group, Wouter Crul, General Manager Europe at Regrow Ag, and Matthew Orman, Executive Director at Sustainable Soils Alliance. The group discussed the latest in digital innovations, best practices, state of adoption, and the vital role that soil health plays in agricultural sustainability.

"I am encouraged by the momentum we are gaining for making regenerative agriculture a reality. But, every farm, even every hectare, is different - so we do not totally understand which practices are “regenerative” and “sustainable” in an implementable way, nor how to measure the associated outcomes and impacts," says Dr. Whitcraft. "Environmental outcomes are critical, but profitability and feasibility for farmers and value chain actors also really matter. We need an multi-faceted evidence base built upon and sustained through a measurement system that’s characterized by integration, consistency and transparency."

In the pursuit of a more sustainable food system, the panel reminds us that the path to regenerative agriculture lies in a multidimensional approach marked by integration, consistency, and transparency.

Photo from the 2023 World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, panelists from left to right: Alyssa Whitcraft (session chair), Matthew Orman, Ben Makowiecki, and Wouter Crul.