This innovative project, led by Daniel McKay Fletcher at SRUC, was one of 16 scoping studies to receive funding from the AFN Network+. Here he explains why his team plans to create a web tool to help farmers forecast the greenhouse gas emissions from their manure. Rearing cattle significantly contributes to global warming due to the emissions of potent greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide (released from manure storage, fertilising crops/pasture and the soil) and methane (from cows burping and farting, and from manure storage). Methane and nitrous oxide are thought to warm 27 and 265 times more than carbon dioxide respectively. As a result emissions from the storage of manure from all livestock in the UK is estimated to make up 16% of the global warming potential of our agricultural emissions. 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. Our project will address this challenge by co-designing a web-tool with farmers and consultants. The tool will forecast greenhouse gas emissions from manure to provide farmers with information to make effective decisions to minimise emissions and increase manure fertility. It will also raise awareness of how large emissions from manure can be. 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 a plan to improve consumer understanding of alternative proteins. They are among sixteen innovative projects that have received funding.
Why are food and farming hardly talked about at COP? Could this be about to change? If so, how? What or what is holding us back from food system transformation? COP veteran and globally renowned food system transformation expert, Prof Tim Benton (Chatham House, University of Leeds, AFN Network+ co-lead), answered these questions and more in our webinar/ interview held ahead of COP28 in Dubai. This is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation between Tim and Prof Neil Ward (University of East Anglia, AFN Network+ co-lead), plus Tim's answers to participant questions. Read and download it here.
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.
Why scenarios and why now? The UK Government does not currently have a plan for how the agri-food system will contribute to its ‘net zero by 2050’ commitment, even though the sector accounts for around a quarter of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. There is also no consensus around a vision for a sustainable UK agri-food system. The rapid pace of global change and recent geopolitical instability pose challenges for thinking about the future, and show that past trends cannot simply be extrapolated forwards. This poses a challenge for policy makers trying to plan for the future. Yet the research needs of the different future worlds requires careful but urgent thought, since innovations can take decades to deploy at scale. Scenarios help us to think about possible challenges and opportunities ahead, and provide a route for planning and decision-making – which was the aim of this report. The scenarios should not be taken as the future we think will happen, should happen, or that we should choose from. Rather, they provide a framework to help us think about what research might be needed to support a sustainable future food system. How the scenarios were built The four ‘plausible futures’ were developed by considering how the world could change in terms of geopolitics and stability, markets and social change. In all four scenarios, the UK reaches net zero emissions by 2050, but in different contexts, via different pathways, and with different implications. The scenarios were built over several months of workshops and events with agri-food specialists and stakeholders from within the AFN Network+, as well as about 40 other individuals from; UK universities and research institutes; central government departments and agencies involved in food, health and environment; international development agencies such as the UN; national and local farming groups covering both conventional agriculture and environmentally-progressive production systems; environmental organisations; international commodity trading organisations; the security and diplomatic services; commercial organisations; international financial services including national banks. The scenarios were built by considering key uncertainties, which centred on three questions:
Download the full report. Online, Friday, 27 October 3.30-4.30pm
The Black Farmers Market was created as a restorative space in celebration of the cultural and historical communal atmosphere of Brixton. It supports local growers and new businesses, to reach new customers and audiences, and to work with experienced traders and business experts to achieve success. At this online event the founders of the Black Farmers Market, Aisha Jade and Natasha Pencil, and the Kenyan Pig Farmer Flavian Obeiro talked through their experiences starting and being part of the market. |
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April 2024
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UK Research has funded this Network+ with the support of these 4 councils:
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Privacy Policy |