Les rendez-vous de l'éco: a conference on "Climate change, agriculture and landscapes: opportunities or disasters?"

[Press release] - Published on October 14, 2025 in Press room

As part of its "rendez-vous de l'éco" series, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montpellier is organizing a conference on the theme of theme: " Climate change, agriculture and landscapes: opportunities or disasters?" on Tuesday November 4, starting at 6:00 pm, on the Richter campus of the Faculty of Economics.

Why this conference?

Faced with major climatic upheavals (frost in April 2021, drought and heatwaves in 2022, excess water between 2023 and 2024), Serge Zaka deciphers the transformations underway and proposes adaptation and mitigation strategies. His objective is clear: to preserve a sustainable, resilient and high-performance agriculture to guarantee France's food independence by 2050.

Solutions exist, and they are multifaceted:

• Genetics for more resilient varieties,
• Optimized irrigation and water resource management,
• The role of trees and bocage in regulating the agricultural climate,
• Microclimate control and regenerative hydrology to restore soil fertility,
• Adaptation of farming practices and reorganization of production areas.

But these initiatives require strong political support to meet the challenges of a changing world, where agricultural issues are intertwined with geopolitical tensions and food crises.

Speaker

Serge ZAKA, agronomist and doctor in agroclimatology, is a recognized expert on the impact of climate change on agriculture. Founder of AgroClimat2050, he is dedicated to the scientific analysis of field crops, market gardening, arboriculture, viticulture and livestock farming. His watchword: anticipate.

Known to the general public for his commitment to popularizing science, he is also a storm chaser, winner of the prize for the most beautiful photo in the world in 2021, and a contributor to numerous documentaries. He is the author of the first comic strip dedicated to agroclimatology, Dr. Zarge et l'Agroclimatologie, as well as his biography to be published by Harper Collins: Orages sur le Climat.