Dan White, CEO & Co-Founder of Clean Crop Technologies recently joined Martita Mestey of Authority Magazine to share his thoughts on transitioning the food system to be less dependent on fossil fuels, and how Clean Crop is helping to create a more resilient food supply chain. Find an excerpt below, and read the full article here.
Can you help define what a nationally secure and resilient food supply chain would look like?
Working across agricultural supply chains, you realize that the biggest unlock for security and resiliency is increasing stability in the system and helping supply chain operators manage risk. As seed health and food safety regulations get stricter, and consumers get more discerning, it gets harder and harder for supply chains to source seeds and foods that meet safety requirements for farmers, retailers, and consumers. Supply chain resilience is a function of how well we can manage these kinds of seedborne and foodborne contaminants, and provide growers and consumers with a predictable, steady supply of seeds and foods.
Can you share with our readers a few of the things that your organization is doing to help create a more secure food supply chain?
Our goal is to unlock more food with the same land, water, and energy resources as the new standard first line of defense for seed health globally.
For customers, we have seen that the $78Bn crop protection market is in a period of transition. Existing fungicides and other seed treatments are facing increasing regulatory headwinds, and many growers interested in transitioning to regenerative practices find limited options for soil-friendly crop protection products. Clean Crop’s vision is to reduce in-field plant disease pressure through removing contaminants from the seeds before planting that leaves no residues. At scale, we can reduce the need for intensive spraying through reducing disease transmission via the seed from field to field — increasing yields and reducing in-field waste across a wide range of categories.
What are a few threats over the horizon that might disrupt our food supply chain that we should take action now to correct? Can you please explain?
Climate change is the largest threat today, on multiple levels. In addition to increasing drought, heat, and flooding risk across the globe, climate change is also driving the spread of pests and diseases around the world, putting pressure on farmers and reducing yields. For example, climate change is making blights in wheat more damaging, as wheat-growing areas warm, allowing warm weather fusariums to spread further north.
What are the “5 Things We Must Do To Create Nationally Secure And Resilient Food Supply Chains” and why?
1. Make food systems less dependent on fossil fuels. Using air and electricity as the sole inputs, Clean Crop is one of a handful of companies at the leading edge of the Power to Ag transition, replacing fossil fuel-derived hot water and chemicals with electro-chemistry to decontaminate seeds. Clean Current is a fully-automated, fully-electric, and dry cold plasma treatment that seamlessly integrates into supply chain operations, replacing hot water and chemical treatments, while decontaminating and boosting seed performance.
2. Enhance farm resilience by prioritizing soil health. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, agriculture accounts for around 70% of global freshwater usage and is a significant contributor to water pollution through chemical runoff. In the United States alone, over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually, with a significant portion ending up in water bodies, impacting aquatic life and human health. By treating seeds with Clean Current technology, we’re able to reduce (if not eliminate) producers’ reliance on herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, mitigating environmental impacts and reducing GHG emissions associated with industrial agriculture practices. (Source)
3. Increase farm production using the same inputs. As shared above, every year, crop and food contaminants lead to 30%+ crop loss in the field, which is the equivalent of 7% of GHG emissions. Our goal is to offset a gigaton of GHG emissions by decontaminating the seed, keeping as much of crops out of landfills as possible (where they leach methane) and reducing in-field loss. By increasing crop productivity in terms of yield per area (tons of food per hectare), Clean Crop can help meet food demand without expanding agricultural land and resource use.
4. Decrease the cost of farmers’ expenditures. As the cost of production continues to climb, input expenditures represent a substantial portion of farmers’ budgets. For instance, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that input costs for fertilizers and pesticides can make up for more than half the total production costs of certain crops. Ensuring accessible and cost-effective adoption of agricultural technologies that reduce dependence on these inputs can significantly enhance producers’ profitability and operational stability while increasing yields. (Source)
5. Invest in long-term solutions to issues within the food supply chain. Transforming the food supply chain for sustained impact involves a comprehensive strategy spanning all five stages of production. To achieve a robust and resilient national food supply chain, it is necessary for sustained investments in technological advancements, infrastructure enhancement, adoption of sustainable practices, and fostering collaborative partnerships across multiple sectors. The challenges we face aren’t going to be solved overnight or by a singular solution, and we can better safeguard our food system against uncertainties and ensure a stable supply of food for generations to come by keeping an open mind to a diverse range of solutions.
