Sorghum, crop of the future for our food and climate?

During the 2021 Sorghum Congress, interventions from Florentino Lopez, consultant at Creando mañana and Serge Zaka, scientific expert and doctor-researcher in agroclimatology at ITK will attempt to answer this question.

Florentino Lopez will speak at a round table dedicated to the economic viability of sorghum in the world and Europe . An American from Texas, he has dedicated a large part of his professional career to growing sorghum. After twenty or so years in the pig industry, he has spent 12 years at Sorghum Checkoff as marketing director and then executive director And he has recently created his own consultancy structure. Convinced of the strategic importance of agriculture, through his practice, he wants to help producers and agricultural players develop reliable, economically profitable and sustainably produced food supply chains. With his extensive professional experience he is well placed to create or bring together teams for operational projects. “There are plenty of opportunities, it’s up to us to seize or promote them. And to do that, from consumers to producers, from processors to brokers, everyone has a part to play in the solution. My challenge is to help them orchestrate success! ”

Serge Zaka will speak on “Agriculture in the face of climate and environmental challenges”. A scientific expert on agroclimatology, Serge Zaka is passionate about what he does. After far-reaching studies: a soil science and agronomy engineer (AgroSup Dijon) with a doctorate in agroclimatology (INRAé), Serge Zaka works as a research scientist-modeller atITK (Intelligence Technology Knowledge), a company which pioneers connected agriculture services. He is studying the impact of climate change on agriculture. “Understanding the climate and its impacts has been my life-long calling. It led me to doing the doctorate”. In addition to the scientific realm, this calling is also expressed in art: Serge Zaka has a splendid collection of photographs immortalising weather events. In that capacity he is one of the 21 finalists in the Weather Photographer of the Year competition 2021.