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Agriculture

Food makes up a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. Image credit: Pixabay/ mccright
agriculture
02 June 2017

Changing the way we get our food is key to global warming fight

Our food accounts for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, yet shorter supply chains, food maps, and sharing leftovers could help cities put cheaper and more climate-friendly produce on citizens’ plates, a conference on food security heard.

Dr Manoj Dora is looking into so-called lean agriculture to make European farming more productive and competitive.
agriculture | interview
23 May 2017

Secret to cheaper food may be to copy Toyota - Dr Manoj Dora

An on-demand style of farming inspired by the Toyota car manufacturing lines of the 1950s could be the key to improving efficiency on farms, which would in turn lead to cheaper food in European supermarkets, according to Dr Manoj Dora from Brunel University London in the UK.

Researchers in Norwich, UK, are hoping to make crops more resistant to disease. Image credit: Kamoun Lab @ TSL
agriculture
18 May 2017

Can CRISPR feed the world?

As the world’s population rises, scientists want to edit the genes of potatoes and wheat to help them fight plant diseases that cause famine.

Research on finger millet crops aims to boost essential vitamins to tackle malnutrition. Credit: ‘A Scene of Ragi’ by Thamizhpparithi Maari is licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
agriculture | open to the world | health
10 May 2017

New strains of staple crops serve up essential vitamins

More nutritious versions of staple crops could increase daily vitamin and mineral intake for millions of people with poor diets, helping to overcome undernourishment that can cause blindness, brittle bones, feeble muscles and brain damage.

The DNA from over 1 500 forgotten tomato breeds are being used to create resilient, nutritious and flavour-filled varieties. Image courtesy of TRADITOM
agriculture | environment
04 May 2017

Forgotten crops making meals taste better

Local farmers and researchers are foraging through forgotten crops to recover long-lost flavours.

Quinoa could become a staple crop for European farmers. Credit: PROTEIN2FOOD
agriculture
02 May 2017

How ancient crops could counteract climate change effects

Farmers who grow single crops are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but now researchers are resurrecting ancient crop varieties to encourage diversity and offset the risks of extreme weather.

Half of the snappers sold in markets may actually be other types of fish. Image credit: ‘Maine Avenue Fish Market’ by Ellie Van Houtte is licenced under CC BY 2.0
environment | agriculture
22 March 2017

DNA barcoding needed to break fish black market

General fish labels like snapper, sole and seabream take away the power to accurately assess stocks and then distort fishing quotas, but by identifying individual species we could prevent illegal catches ending up on our plates. 

Harvesting rubber from dandelions is a way to reduce the reliance on imports from Southeast Asia. Image credit: Pixabay/ starbright
agriculture | industry
06 March 2017

Rubber dandelions and nickel-eating flowers

Fields of yellow flowers across Europe could soon be producing a harvest of rubber and nickel for use in industry, helping to reduce reliance on imports by creating a home-grown source of raw materials.

Farmers could soon be using nematodes on a large scale to fight pests in their maize fields. Image credit E-nema GmbH, Germany
agriculture | bioeconomy | open innovation
12 October 2016

Natural enemies enlisted as troops in war on pests

From fungal spore spray to insect egg dispensers, unleashing an army of living enemies on crops to keep pests and diseases in check may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but it’s part of a more natural approach to agriculture, designed to decrease reliance on chemicals.

Semi-natural habitats such as a flower strip along a winter wheat field in the Netherlands can attract insects to eat pests or pollinate crops. Image courtesy of Professor David Kleijn.
agriculture | environment
24 May 2016

‘Ecological intensification’ swaps pesticides for biodiversity

While farmers often turn to pesticides and herbicides to get as much produce as possible from their land, there’s something new on the menu that could employ nature’s own resources instead.

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