Understanding Use of Agricultural Azoles & its Impact on Quality of Waterbodies and AMR

This project aims to understand use of azole fungicide in arable farmlands in Southwest England and determine its impact on quality of waterbodies and AMR.

My contribution consist in researching farmer’s awareness of resistance to azole-based fungicides in cereal production: barriers and opportunities of transitioning to alternative agriculture in southwest England in Bristol and Devon. Through a limited number of semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with arable farmers, the social science aspect of the project has revealed various avenues for future research relating to farming practices and chemical use. Decisions regarding the use of chemicals on crops to treat disease, for example, seemed to edge towards a reduction in use or at least a careful assessment of the needs of the crops, and experimentation, such as learning to focus on less disease prone crop varieties, rather than choosing a different chemical.