Agriculture, like most industries, faces complex challenges in a briskly changing and globally connected world. From rapidly growing populations in the U.S. and abroad, unpredictable and shifting climates, to labor shortages coupled with increasingly limited resources and steadily rising input costs, agriculture is certainly not immune to economic volatility and uncertainty.
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of visiting the N.C. State Plant Sciences Initiative research center on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University and wow, was I blown away by all the cutting-edge research being conducted less than 45 miles to the north of us!
The Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI) has taken a unique approach to tackling global agricultural issues with a vision to, “be the world’s premier plant sciences enterprise accelerating discovery, talent development and applied solutions that solve agricultural challenges through interdisciplinary, team-based science.” Complex challenges, like feeding a global population projected to increase by nearly two billion people by 2050, is just one example of the ambitious and visionary goals of the initiative.
What stood out most to me during my visit, and what I believe sets this project apart from other visionary research endeavors, is the commitment to a multidisciplinary, team-oriented approach to problem solving. Academia can be notorious for working in “silos”, a common euphemism describing a narrow, independent, and somewhat isolated approach to research. Recognizing that enormous issues like exponentially increasing global food yields requires creativity, innovation as well as intelligence, the PSI endeavors to bring the best minds from academia, government and industry together to share knowledge and resources to create real world solutions.
When leaving this tour my feelings were interlaced with gratitude, pride, and a sense of hope for the future. I’m grateful to have an affiliation with NC State University and the Plant Sciences Initiative through my role as County Extension Director, proud to be a North Carolinian, where some of the most impactful and cutting-edge research is being done to change our world for the better, and ultimately hopeful that the research being done at the Plant Sciences Initiative can have a positive and lasting impact on the sustainability of our food systems across the globe, as well as for our farmers and producers right here in Lee County.
Bill Stone is County Extension Director for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Lee County.
