GROW

The agri-food sector is facing increasing pressure as it tries to feed and nourish a growing population by 2050 in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. The sector faces challenges around achieving targets on net zero greenhouse gas emissions; improving environmental performance; tackling food loss and food waste; as well as increasing the resiliency of the food system. Farmers are acutely aware of these pressures and realise their potential to act as change agents to address the challenge of global warming and the need for emission reductions.

The GROW project aims to enable farmers to lead the transition to a net-zero food system by equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to practise regenerative agriculture and other low-carbon farming practices, such as zero till, integration of livestock, and maximising crop diversity.

Project lead: Shannon McLaughlin, Queen’s University Belfast

Project members: Stephane Durand, Queen’s University Belfast; Andreas Gabriel, Bavarian Research Centre for Agriculture (StMELF), Germany; Bartłomiej Mielniczuk, MASPEX, Poland; Cláudia Costa, Food4Sustainability, Portugal; Gonçalo Amorim, BGI, Portugal; Cláudia Godinho, BGI, Portugal; Deniz Koca, Lund University, Sweden; Tomasz Jeliński, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Findings

• The GROW workshops serve as a platform for farmers to share knowledge, techniques, and experiences directly with their peers.
• The focus is on sustainable agriculture, including multi-species swards, rotational grazing, nutrient management and water quality, agroforestry, low-input production and soil health, covering beef, dairy and arable systems across the UK and beyond.

Suggestions for further research

Developing training materials – videos, reports, podcasts.