Webinars & Podcast
To suggest a topic or person for our webinar and podcast series,
contact our Knowledge Exchange Fellow, Jez Fredenburgh: [email protected]
contact our Knowledge Exchange Fellow, Jez Fredenburgh: [email protected]
Tree-planting is a key part of the UK government’s plan to reach net zero by 2050, with a commitment to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodland every year. But where will all these trees go, and how can we ensure food production is maintained? Agroforestry – through silvopasture and silvoarable systems, as well as better integrated hedges – may hold some answers. Cambridgeshire farmer, soil scientist, and UK agroforestry pioneer, Stephen Briggs, has successfully integrated fruit trees and arable crops: The result has been improved resilience to economic and weather shocks, healthier soils, better water retention, and increased productivity. In this webinar, Stephen shares his insights from his farm and working with agroforesters around the world. Stephen covers:
About Stephen:
Stephen has been farming organically for over two decades. He grows organic cereals (wheat, barley, oats) on 576 acres in Cambridgeshire, and in 2009 began integrating apple trees into his arable crops after looking for a money-making solution to reduce soil erosion. He now has 4,500 such trees across half his farm, making it the largest commercial agro-forestry system in the UK. Before farming, he worked for DfID and FAO as a soil scientist in Africa and India, and then did a Nuffield Scholarship on agroforestry systems, which took him all over the world. He is Head of Technical Development at Innovation for Agriculture, a non-executive director of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), and a member of Defra’s expert steering group, advising on agroforestry for the new Environment Land Management Scheme (ELMS). He works with European partners, and helped establish the Europe Agroforestry Federation, and is now working on a Horizon project Climate Farm Demo, that aims to set up 1500 demo farms across 27 countries. He’s also an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and runs an independent organic farm business consultancy, Abacus Agriculture. About Neil: As well as being a co-lead of the AFN Network+, Neil is a professor of rural and regional development at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he was deputy vice chancellor and PVC-Academic (2013-21). He has held chairs at the University of Leeds and Newcastle University, where he was director of the Centre for Rural Economy from 2004 to 2008. He has also worked for periods on secondment to the Cabinet Office and as an advisor to the Economic and Social Research Council. His research interests are in rural economic and social change, agriculture, food and environmental policy and regional development. His latest book is Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System (Routledge 2023). Follow Neil on Twitter, and follow AFN Network+ on Twitter and LinkedIn. This webinar is part of a series run by the AFN Network+ where we explore net zero in the UK agri-food system with leading movers and shakers. Expect deep and varied insight from across the sector, including farmers, scientists, policy analysts, community leaders, retailers, politicians, businesses and health professionals. Watch past webinars here.
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July 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 |