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As a result of population increases, changes in eating habits, and climate change in combination with the limited amount of space available for agricultural use, the supply of food and fodder is increasingly becoming a global challenge. As a result, significant productivity increases are necessary in initial agricultural production, the food industry, and even the food trade. With its “Plants” innovation area, the High-Tech Strategy is making an important contribution to securing our food supply with the help of research and innovation.

Tomorrow’s Source for Raw Materials

Moreover, new approaches in research, development and production are needed in order to switch industry over to using biological raw materials as a resource. The targeted use of all of a plant's parts for pharmaceutical products, chemicals, fuels and other sources of energy has sizable potential in this connection. Of particular interest here are sustainable, integrated extraction processes that separate components for raw materials and in which all constituent parts of the source material can be used in a subsequent biotechnological and/or thermo chemical process to obtain synthetic building blocks, fuels or energy.

Advancing Plant Biotechnology

The German government aims to step up the development of a knowledge-based bioindustry in Germany. It is working to make Germany the European leader in plant biotechnology and plant breeding by the year 2015. The share of renewable resources in Germany's energy supply is to be substantially increased by 2015. The use of renewable resources in the chemical industry - which is currently some 10 to 12 percent - is also be significantly increased.