The G-STIC Conference is one of the world’s leading platforms focused on technological innovation for sustainable development. It brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, researchers, policymakers, investors, and social and economic actors to explore market-ready technological innovations with the potential to impact substantially on the realisation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Precision agriculture expert at the CSIR, Professor Moses Cho will share how digitalisation can help farmers mitigate climate change impacts and reduce production costs. © CSIR
G-STIC is the acronym for the Global Sustainable Technology and Innovation Community.
The 8th edition of the G-STIC Conference, known as G-STIC Pretoria, will take place from 8 to 10 October 2025 at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, South Africa. This landmark edition of the event is particularly significant as it coincides with the 80th anniversary of the CSIR, reinforcing the organisation’s enduring commitment to scientific and technological excellence in support of sustainable development. It also marks the first time G-STIC will be held on the African continent.
G-STIC Pretoria will serve as a premier global forum for advancing integrated technological solutions to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. Building on the foundation of previous editions, it will also offer a distinctive focus on Africa’s sustainability challenges and opportunities, bringing critical regional perspectives to the global dialogue.
Some highlights from the programme
In the session titled ‘Strengthened agricultural productivity and resilient food systems’, the CSIR’s Professor Moses Cho, a precision agriculture expert, will share how digitalisation can help farmers mitigate climate change impacts and reduce production costs, while creating new jobs and de-risking the food production value chain. He will be joined by Professor Grant Stentiford from the Centre of Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in the United Kingdom, Professor Sonja Venter from South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council and Wandile Sihlobo of the Agricultural Business Chamber in a plenary session moderated by the CSIR's Dr Nthabiseng Motete.
Pineapple farmers in the Eastern Cape are trialling a new biodegradable mulch film developed by the CSIR. This compostable soil cover can be used as an alternative to conventional plastic soil covers, with early results suggesting improved growth rates that could lead to earlier harvests. The mulch film is made of up to 40% locally sourced natural materials, which reduces costs compared to commercially available biodegradable mulches. The project is supported by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation's Circular Economy Demonstration Fund and will be showcased at the CSIR@80 | G-STIC Conference.
Dr Sandy Thomalla of the CSIR has been selected as a first author on the seventh assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thomalla is a career oceanographer who currently leads the CSIR-hosted Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO). She joins fellow first authors from around the globe in a four-year voluntary process of compiling the world’s most influential and respected climate policy document.
“Governments around the world use the IPCC document as a support tool for mitigation and adaptation policy implementation,” says Thomalla. She will co-author a section on the science of earth system changes, which falls under Chapter Four of the first working group of the panel. Although Thomalla must be impartial in synthesising and collating the latest and highest quality research for the report, she will draw on her own expertise in ocean and climate science.
Dr Thomalla will speak on the subject ‘Risks to fisheries and climate misjudged: What we now know from satellites and underwater robotics’ at the CSIR@80 | G-STIC Conference.
For more information and to register for the conference visit: https://gsticpretoria.org/