Research strategies for net-zero agriculture

Why was this the right time to organise a symposium on this topic?

UK Governmental statutory commitments to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 poses significant challenges for agri-food systems. Farming practices urgently have to change – both in arable and livestock systems – to reduce emissions, but net zero also places pressures on land utilisation and sustainable diets. For example, to reach these goals by 2050, UK agricultural production levels would have to be undertaken on a third less land, given sequestration measures like tree planting. Only a system-wide transformation can realise net zero goals by 2050, underlining the urgency of organising a RP symposium that brings together experts from key disciplines and policy makers to facilitate achieving these goals.

What were the aims of the symposium?

The symposium was designed to bring together an array of experts – ranging from social scientists to climate modellers, crop and livestock breeders, policy makers and farmers – to discuss how research and innovation can deliver this major structural shift to Net Zero Agriculture.

What were some of the most exciting topics or directions that emerged from the symposium?

In “Visualising the future climate”, Mike Rivington (JHI) presented striking weather simulations explaining how achieving Net Zero Agriculture will be challenging given changes in weather patterns which include temperature extremes that will determine what land can be used for and productive it will be.

Neil Ward (UEA) drew on his recent research under UKRI’s AFN (Agri Food4Netzero) Network+, to explore plausible future scenarios which bring international geopolitics and social and political change into discussions of the potential pathways to a net zero UK and the role of the agri-food system in that transformation.

Who won the prize for the best ECR presentation?

Sarah Bailey (a second year PhD student at the John Innes Centre, Norwich) presented an excellent seminar entitled “Protecting by disarming: what are the effects of disrupting wheat rust disease susceptibility factors?” which identified key genes controlling resistance to yellow rust, one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide.

Dr Jonathan Ritson (who is a research fellow at the University of Manchester) presented a thought-provoking seminar entitled “Agricarbon schemes: getting the science and policy right” which included him reviewing the scientific evidence behind agricarbon schemes and recommendations for how a market for agricarbon credits could function in a credible manner.

Dr. Simon Griffiths, John Innes Centre

Professor Sacha Mooney, University of Nottingham

Professor Malcolm Bennett, University of Nottingham