We will be discussing this issue at our Labour Party Conference Fringe Event on
Monday 23 September. More details and registration here.
There is an urgent need to accelerate the pace of change to embrace more sustainable farming practices. We need to produce more and better food, with less pesticides and fertilisers, while improving soil health and responding to climate and biodiversity goals. To meet these objectives, we need to address the UK’s funding gap in applied agriculture-related research. This also calls for a strategic review of whether the current structure of the country’s applied crop science capabilities is fit-for-purpose.
The UK’s applied crop science landscape is extremely fragmented, with a number of public, private and third sector organisations all competing in broadly the same funding arena. Competition and diversity are important, but not if they compromise our ability to make progress at the required pace.
In many other countries, specific initiatives and organisations are recognised and rewarded as national centres of excellence in applied research, and as successful incubators of commercial spin-outs and joint ventures. Set against these examples, and with the urgent challenge of securing our future food supply more sustainably in the face of climate change and declining natural resources, is it time to review our approach to applied crop science?
Since the 1960s, agricultural innovation has successfully sustained a fast-growing world population and globally saved a billion acres from deforestation. This success of our food system has helped mitigate mankind’s impact on the planet, with access to improved healthcare, medicines and food - driven by science - supporting a rapid and exponential growth in the human population. More reliable access to nutritious and safe food has underpinned societal progress. Today, we live in a much fairer and more inclusive world, with less poverty and much improved opportunities for all.
But much more still needs to be done.
One of the best indicators of agriculture’s environmental impact is land use. Converting land for food production translates directly into biodiversity loss and deforestation. The scientific evidence is compelling - the most efficient way to produce enough food, enhance biodiversity and tackle climate change is to leave nature intact by farming on as small an area as possible. We should, therefore, focus on productivity as, regardless of the type of farming system, the evidence tells us that the worst thing we can do for nature is to use land for farming.
As we navigate the immediate challenges of the current uncertainties, we should keep in mind the role of innovation in food production. We need better access to innovative farming technologies and to make use of all the tools at our disposal, for example recognising the impact that gene editing would have in developing crops resistance to diseases or tolerant to drought. We urge the newly elected administration to bring forward the secondary legislation needed to implement the provisions set out in the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023, enabling the sector to facilitate the commercialisation of new varieties and even new crops in England.
A progressive, science-based approach to farming and food production, embracing innovation and harnessing the power of large-scale data, offers the potential for high-yielding, profitable crop production to go hand in hand with reducing agriculture’s environmental and climate impacts to secure a better world for future generations.
Comments