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Agriculture

LED-vertical-farm-hydroponics
agriculture | environment
12 June 2018

Indoor farms could fine-tune the flavours of our food

A new way to farm indoors using different wavelengths of light could boost the taste of fruits, salads and herbs, while also increasing food supply and nutritional value.

honeybee-portrait-Apis melifera
agriculture | environment
06 June 2018

Decoding the honeybee dance could lead to healthier hives

Unravelling one of the most elaborate forms of non-human communication – the honeybee’s waggle dance – could help researchers better understand insect brains and make farming more environmentally friendly.

Researchers are working on methods that are faster than laboratory tests to determine if food has been tampered with. Image credit - Pixabay/ Hans, licensed under CC0
agriculture | health
14 May 2018

Forensic accounting can predict future food fraud

Food fraud, where different or low-quality food is deliberately mislabelled and sold as high-quality goods, risks the health of consumers as well as the economic viability of producers and manufacturers. To combat this, researchers have figured out that analysing the past and present behaviour of criminal activity could predict what they might target in the future.

bees on beehive
agriculture | open innovation
04 May 2018

Smart beehives and heat treatments could protect bees from decline

Since the mid-1980s, the number of bees in Europe has been in decline. Threatened by pesticides, insecticides and climate change, they are also being struck by infestations of mites and a crippling virus that deforms their wings. But new technology aims to take the sting out of the situation.

Aquaculture and fish farms must adapt to the changing sea conditions of climate change. Image credit - Ferit Rad from Mersin University
environment | agriculture
09 April 2018

Europe must sea food in a new way thanks to warming waters

Aquaculture, or fish farming, is one of the world's fastest growing food sectors, providing about half of all the fish we eat. As it stands, climate change is altering our ocean’s environment, causing the seawater to become warmer and impacting the marine  ecosystems profoundly. How will these changes affect marine species, consumers and industries that rely on them?

Recycling food waste to use as animal feed and turning manure into green fertilizers can lead to lower environmental impacts from food production. Image credit - pxhere/1271653, licensed under CC0 Public Domain
environment | agriculture
05 April 2018

Turning food waste into animal feed could take a chunk out of livestock emissions

Using European plant and dairy waste as an alternative to soy-based animal feed could see a big drop in agricultural emissions and prevent deforestation.

As more food than ever is being grown, it is important to find ways to promote and maintain soil quality. Image credit - Pixabay/ meganelford0
agriculture | environment
13 February 2018

Cultural cross-fertilisation to rescue soils

Sharing best practice farming techniques with farmers from different cultures and traditions could help increase the quality of our soils – a vital step in ensuring that we can grow enough food for people in the coming decades.

Solar-powered irrigation systems can help reduce water consumption by letting farmers know exactly how much water is needed and when. Image credit - MASLOWATEN
agriculture | energy | environment
13 December 2017

Farmers bank on solar power to stave off European water crisis

Rising populations and climate change are putting pressure on the water needed for agriculture but a solar-powered irrigation system may reduce the amount that farmers use – while simultaneously slashing the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Sea-based agriculture that cultivates large quantities of algae could help triple or quadruple the amount of food we get from our oceans. Credit - pxhere/ picture is in public domain
agriculture | environment | policy
08 December 2017

Algae and krill may be a tough sell for European consumers

People will need to be persuaded to eat new types of seafood if we are to extract more food from the oceans and feed growing human populations, according to fishing industry experts.

Growing coffee under the forest canopy can help preserve biodiversity. Credit – ‘Coffee Plant near the Quilalí - San Juan del Río Coco border’ by Elizabeth Sampson is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
agriculture | environment
22 November 2017

Forest plantations are a potent blend for coffee production

Climate change is threatening Europe’s coffee supplies, but the impacts could be diluted by planting the crops amongst trees - a technique known as agroforestry, which is also being revived in European farming.

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