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Agriculture

Dairies generate a substantial amount of organic waste, including wastewater and whey, which are now being used to create products like bioplastics. Image credit - Keith Weller/USDA/Wikimedia, public domain
agriculture | environment
16 July 2020

Dairy waste is being turned into bioplastics and plant food

Dairies in Europe are major economic drivers in rural areas, but they produce significant waste from cleaning and processing. Wastewater and milk residue, which are typically disposed of, are now being turned into new products such as phosphate-rich fertiliser and bioplastics.

Urgent action is needed to feed people who can no longer buy food due to the pandemic and loss of income and to prevent hunger levels from soaring, say experts. Image credit - Pixabay/tyaqakk, licenced under Pixabay licence
coronavirus outbreak | agriculture
02 June 2020

For world’s poorest, coronavirus loss of income threatens ability to eat

The world’s poorest – who have lost their incomes from illness or because of lockdowns – are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and, unless they receive enough support, hunger levels will soar and some countries may see rising violence, experts say.

Food that has travelled a shorter distance from farm to fork appears to be more environmentally and socially sustainable, but scaling up such supply chains is going to be a challenge. Image credit - Didier Provost/Unsplash
environment | agriculture
25 May 2020

Eating local and plant-based diets: how to feed cities sustainably

How do you feed a city? It is one of the great questions of our time. After all, for a species that ultimately depends on plants to feed ourselves, we do tend to cram ourselves into places that are rather unfriendly towards them. Our cities are built around cars, offices and perhaps the odd park – not fields of crops.

Ear tags with a wireless radio frequency identification antenna along with a smart robotic feeder can tell farmers every time a cow goes to feed and what dose of mineral supplements it receives. Image credit - Ivan Andonovic
agriculture | ict
18 May 2020

How crop and animal sensors are making farming smarter

Installing wireless sensors among crops and attaching ‘smart’ ear tags to livestock could help farmers produce more food with less impact on the environment.

Using insect as a protein source could have big environmental advantages but it has yet to catch on in Europe. Image credit - Jonathan Hornung, licenced under CC BY-SA 2.0
agriculture | environment
12 May 2020

Insects could help increase Europe’s food self-sufficiency but will they catch on?

Insects in products such as pasta or bread, microalgae, and single-cell proteins derived from wood could feed and nourish humans and animals in the future. Now, those exploring alternative proteins for more sustainable eating are working out how to make the switch to bug-based food a reality.

People working on small farms often find they have back problems after a few years, say researchers who are developing a robotic farming aide. Image credit - Sony computer science laboratories
agriculture | industry
21 April 2020

The robots weeding organic farms and patrolling for greenhouse pests

Robots that use artificial intelligence to recognise the health of fruit and vegetable crops and when they’re ready to harvest are being trialled to help small, organic and greenhouse farmers with weeding and patrolling for pests.

The discovery of Xyella fastidiosa in European olive trees in 2013 caught European researchers off-guard. Image credit - Sjor/Wikimedia commons, licenced under CC BY-SA 4.0
agriculture
17 March 2020

The fight to save Europe’s olive trees from disease

A plant disease spread by sap-sucking insects has been devastating olive and fruit orchards across southern Europe, but scientists are inching closer to halting its spread with the help of insect repelling clays, vegetative barriers and genetic analysis.

A seed-sharing network would allow European farmers to manage their own seed resources rather than depend on what big agribusiness want to sell. Image credit - Pixabay/ StockSnap, licensed under pixabay license
environment | agriculture | frontier research
08 August 2019

Sharing seeds could help farmers grow better food

Tapping into the genetic diversity contained within the seeds of wild relatives and forgotten crop plants could help farmers decrease their dependency on global agribusiness and grow food better suited to local conditions.

Analysing chicken genetics could help identify which strains are more responsive to a particular microbe. Image credit - Pexels, licensed under the pexels licence
health | agriculture
05 August 2019

Coming to a farm near you: The humble microbe boosting Europe’s food industry

Farmers who want to produce bigger chickens, fewer greenhouse gas-filled cow burps or healthier animals are increasingly able to turn to one tiny source: microbes.

Farm waste is often full of nutrients that take time to break down before crops can use them. Image credit - Pxhere, licensed under CC0
environment | agriculture
18 July 2019

Green fertiliser made from cow dung and chicken feathers could transform big agriculture

A raft of strategies is being trialled in Europe to turn nutrient-rich farm waste such as chicken feathers, cow dung and plant stalks into green fertiliser. Full of phosphorus and nitrogen, recycled products could help reduce intensive agriculture’s emissions and reliance on fertiliser imports.

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