b'THE WORLD IS RUNNING OUT OF FARMERS. WHATS THE ANSWER?Though the population continues to grow, the amount of farmers continues to shrink. How does the globe need to address it?Marc ZienkiewiczCONTRARY TO POPULARbelief, the worlddeep-tech advantage, principally in therapeutics, is not running out of land for farming andagriculture and synthetic biology. Previously, she we are not running out of food, says a Canadianwas a scientist and holds a PhD in molecular biol- PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL expert in a field known as deeptechinstead, weogy and genetics and an MBA in finance. EMPLOYMENT IN are actually running out of farmers. DCVC Bio was represented at the recent WorldAGRICULTUREAccording to Kiersten Stead, managing part- Agri-Tech Innovation Summit held in March in San ner of Californias DCVC Biox, thats due in part toFrancisco, which brought together growers, agri-advancements in agricultural technology, but itsbusiness leaders, technology pioneers and inves- 44%indicative of a widespread trend that we all shouldtors to discuss the future of agricultural technology.be concerned aboutthe fact that an increasingTaking risks to change the game in ag, foodin 1991number of people dont want to, or are unable to,and climate was a major theme, and attend-profitably farm anymore. ees explored the question of what investors Farming is one of the most dangerous jobsneed to see to invest in the food and ag spaces. that we engage in. Its also a really challenging jobProgressive regulatory frameworks are a big part with high risks. All you have to do is look at theof that puzzle, she said in an interview with Seed continuing consolidation of farmsfarmers con- World Group. 26%tinue to adjust their businesses because they cantStead and her team invest in early-stage com- in 2020or dont want to do it anymore, she says. panies and technologies that are using some form Were seeing the average age of farmers goof deeptech combined with the life sciences in up, and were seeing average farm size go up alongorder to make life better for those that use it, which with I, and an increasing shortage of labor. Its notin the case of agriculture is all of us, she says.sustainable into the next generation. With the number of farmers in the world shrink-The statistics bear this out. According to theing, we need to look to technology to solve a trendThe percentage of United Nations International Labour Organizationthat is only going to speed up over time as urbani- the North American (ILO), the percentage of people who work in agri- zation increases. workforce in culture has dropped from 44% in 1991 to an all-timeBut to do that, Stead says we need progressiveagriculture has low of 26% in 2020. The percentage of the Northregulatory frameworks that put an emphasis ondropped drastically American workforce in agriculture has droppedenabling innovation. over the years, from drastically over the years, from 70% in the year 1840What would life be like if your phone was regu- 70% in the to around 3% by 2000, according to USDA statistics. lated in the same way that transgenic crops were According to the ILO 2020 report Spotlightregulated? she said. year 1840on Work Statistics, the world is witnessing a pro- It would probably look like something that wasto aroundnounced urbanization, accompanied by shifts inmade in 1972 and it wouldnt work well. Of course,3% by 2000employment from agriculture to the services sector. new phones come out all the time, constantly Stead, originally from Alberta, focuses onbeing improved and refined in order to do better investing in life science companies that have aenable what users are already doing with them.66/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2022'