1 / 15

Defra’s Research in Sustainable Agriculture

Defra’s Research in Sustainable Agriculture. Dr Sue Popple. Vision for farming 2020. A profitable and competitive farming industry, that takes on the challenge of climate change and is a positive net contributor to the environment. As an industry it should:

judah-garza
Download Presentation

Defra’s Research in Sustainable Agriculture

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Defra’s Research in Sustainable Agriculture Dr Sue Popple

  2. Vision for farming 2020 A profitable and competitive farming industry, that takes on the challenge of climate change and is a positive net contributor to the environment. As an industry it should: • be profitable in the marketplace, continuing to produce the majority of the food we consume • make a positive net environmental contribution, notably in respect of climate change, but also more widely • manage the landscape and the natural assets that underlie it

  3. Defra’s sustainable agricultureresearch programmes • Agriculture and Climate Change • Water Quality and Use • Food Chain Meeting Consumer Needs • Sustainable Farming Systems and Biodiversity • Plant Health

  4. Agriculture and Climate Change • Inventories of emissions of pollution gases from agriculture to air • Mitigation of nitrogen and carbon emissions • Climate change and adaptation in agriculture • Energy in agriculture and food • Bioenergy • Renewable Materials

  5. Current research includes, • Biogas production in the UK • Vulnerability to extreme events • Life Cycle Analysis of options for bioenergy production • Calculating GHG emissions from agriculture

  6. Water Quality and Water Use • Minimising the adverse impacts of UK agriculture on water quality • Optimising water use by UK agriculture and food production industries

  7. Current research includes, • Farm based filters for air and water • Cost curves for multiple diffuse pollutants • Tools for influencing behaviour of farmers and land mangers

  8. Food Chain Meeting Consumer Needs • Efficient food manufacturing and distribution • Waste reduction and recycling in the food chain • Quality foods meeting the consumer needs

  9. Current research includes, • Pathogenic fungi in cereal crops • Exploiting brewing co-products • Resilience of businesses in the food chain

  10. Sustainable Farming Systems and Biodiversity • Organic Farming • Integrated farming systems – a more holistic approach

  11. Current research includes, • Field-scale impacts on biodiversity from New Crops • Managing uncropped land to enhance biodiversity • Developing a fertiliser recommendation system

  12. Plant Health • Exclusion of quarantine pests and diseases • Eradication and containment of plant pests and diseases • Trade facilitation • Development of optimum policy

  13. Current research includes, • Novel diagnostic techniques for the detection of pests and diseases • Detection and monitoring of quarantine whitefly transmitted viruses in protected vegetable crops • Management of plant health risks associated with processing of plant-based wastes

  14. The future - Generic changes in our needs Increasing need for: • Social and opinion research • Multi-disciplinary (natural + social) analysis and assessment • Evaluation of issues and solutions • Interpretation and advice from research providers • Collaboration

  15. The Strategy ArrowEstablished in letter to the PM For example… Energy Emergency preparedness – animal diseases, floods Water availability and quality Avoiding dangerous climate change Waste (re-use, recycling, composting, energy from waste) ONE PLANET LIVING Maintaining & enhancing the natural asset base Food and farming Animal health and welfare Land use Mission Marine environment High Level Goals CAP administration High Impact Policies Licence to Operate

More Related