Collective insurance products are uncommon and to support farmers in experimenting and taking risks as a group, our project explores the design of a new model of collective insurance for farmers trying new climate-smart practices as a cohort, across a catchment.
If you missed our annual network gathering last month, you can now watch the key presentations on YouTube, by clicking the names of our three distinguished and very thought-provoking speakers below: Sue Pritchard is a farmer and chief executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Judith Batchelar OBE is deputy chair of the Environment Agency and […]
This project was one of 16 scoping studies to receive funding from the AFN Network+ in 2023. In this blog, project lead Maria Traka and Laura Bardon from Quadram Institute Bioscience describe why they’re developing a sustainability data map for the UK dairy food chain. Our food system produces a third (34%) of global greenhouse gas emissions. […]
If you missed our webinar with Dominic Watters on ‘How food system transformation is middle class and why this needs to change’, you can now read a briefing of the key points and wider discussion. Dominic, also known as Single Dad SW, is a single dad living in poverty and food and fuel insecurity in London. His estate is a […]
The AFN Network+ is excited to introduce our six new Champions for 2024. The Champions bring a wealth of expertise spanning the agri-food system, from hands-on farming to wider industry, academia and the public sector. Each Champion will lead one of six research themes, identified by our members during The Big Tent 2023, our annual […]
Achieving net zero in the agri-food system requires understanding the whole system, including production, supply chains, consumption, waste, land use, governance, economics, trade, and more. Over two workshops, a conceptual model diagram has been developed that represents the shared understanding of the structure of the complex UK agrifood system. The conceptual model can be used to […]
The AFN Network+ has launched a consultation on the Research and Policy Priorities for the UK agri-food system. This consultation document has been produced after the Network’s first year of activities, and research priorities were explored at an expert workshop in November 2023.
COP28 in Dubai was hailed as historic for many reasons – but what was achieved, if anything, in terms of the food system? We’ve put together this quick-read briefing based on a Chatham House webinar held on 14 December with the Environment and Society team. Not everyone who wanted to go was able to attend, […]
We know that we need to make the food system in the UK better for the environment. Our project will focus on meat, and the potential willingness of consumers to integrate alternative proteins into their diet.
Although manure is a big emitter of greenhouse gases, it is also a valuable resource for farmers. It can be used as an organic fertiliser, reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers, which are expensive and emit high quantities of carbon dioxide during production, while increasing soil carbon storage. However, the release of gases from manure during storage reduces the fertility of the manure once it’s applied to the field.
The UKRI Agri-food for Net Zero Network+ (AFN Network+) has awarded more than £200,000 to projects which help address the challenge of reaching net zero through agri-food. The projects include a web app to help farmers forecast greenhouse gas emissions from their manure, a scheme to replace soya with faba beans in chicken feed and […]
How might the world look in 2050, and what sort of UK agri-food system might exist as a result? This report describes four possible futures and what policy planning and research will be needed under each, to move the agri-food system towards a net zero UK. The UK Government does not currently have a plan […]
