Niels Holst: New from ABD
We have our first birthday on 1 October. The Section for Agricultural Biodiversity consists of approximately 25 employees, of which two-thirds are newcomers from EcoScience. This summer, they vacated their old, cramped premises on campus in Aarhus and moved into the newly renovated top floor above LandCRAFT.
In Aarhus, we are entomologists, sociologists, software engineers and more. Many work with huge simulation models of the arable land with a focus on the fields and the surrounding landscape, all to better understand the interaction between human decision-making, agriculture, biodiversity, pollination, pesticides and more. This work is supported by a web of projects organised in the centre SESS. In Flakkebjerg sits the remaining third, which consists of all the entomologists who previously worked in the CROP and PATENT sections. As a section leader, I like to be in Aarhus 1–2 days a week. The new employees thrive on the openness we have between the sections in AGRO. At the same time, they have had to get to know all the systems and the bureaucracy at AGRO. Our tight control of finances and career paths probably came as a surprise.
The Green Transition of the Danish Landscape requires multifaceted expertises. They are well represented in our section and in AGRO as a whole. We are inclined to regard such political developments as peddlers: Surely there should be good opportunities to bring home a few millions! However, we should not forget that it is actually our duty at AGRO to contribute to the transformation of the Danish landscape so that it can accommodate both life and production. We must be careful not to seize the Green Transition as a lucrative opportunity to simply promote our own professional interests. It has always been AGRO's distinctive feature that we create research that works. We must hold on to that.