NERC/BBSRC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Innovation Club
Sustainable agriculture event tackles water and nutrient challenges for industry
An industry-focused workshop has begun to identify priority areas for research and knowledge translation in the areas of water and nutrients, and to scope out a new collaborative programme in sustainable agriculture. The programme will support and translate innovative research that is both scientifically excellent and relevant to industry.
The 20 February 2013 event was oversubscribed and a full complement of 87 delegates attended from across the private and public sectors, the third sector and the academic community. Industry representatives included multinational companies, food retailers, plant breeders and producers, devolved governments and government departments, the Science & Technology Facilities Council, Technology Strategy Board and the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board.
The day began with presentations from East Malling Research, Anglian Water, Marks & Spencer, the National Farmers Union, NERC's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Rothamsted Research and Newcastle University. The group then worked through two sessions to identify where new solutions are needed to address water and nutrient-related agricultural challenges.
Next steps
A report from the workshop will be completed by May 2013. Based on the research and knowledge-translation challenges identified, the councils will decide on the best funding mechanism to support the collaborative programme, and to identify those businesses most likely to contribute to it.
NERC/BBSRC will then talk to those businesses to understand the likely impacts on business activity and performance of addressing the challenges identified by the workshop. There will be further discussion with devolved governments and government departments to understand how they will take part; Defra has already suggested aligning this work with their emerging Sustainable Intensification Research Platform.
For more information contact Murray Gardner.
The workshop presentations are available to download below, and the full report will be posted on this page in due course.