Minimising the impact of agriculture on the environment and climate

Improving crop yields to feed a growing global population

To meet the food demands of a growing population, food production will need to increase in a safe and efficient way. These efficiency increases need to be undertaken with minimal environmental impact, for example from agrochemicals and unsustainable farming methods. Climate change is creating a requirement for crops to become increasingly resilient to extreme weather and new approaches are being explored to ensure net zero compliant agricultural practices and food processing which consider this requirement. There is also pressure to decrease reliance on food imports to support security of domestic supply as the demands of a growing population increase.

To deliver the required efficiency gains and ensure a robust supply chain, the agriculture sector will need to address the measurement needs and challenges associated with:

• optimising crop yield through agronomy, breeding and precision farming
• understanding process emissions, their sequestration and minimisation
• optimising livestock, manure and other biowaste emissions management to reduce leakage of methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia
• supporting accounting for alternative land use and compensation for activities such as peatland restoration and afforestation.

If you would like to learn more about our work identifying the measurement challenges associated with efficiency in agriculture and land use please contact us.