TY - JOUR
T1 - What agricultural practices are most likely to deliver “sustainable intensification” in the UK?
AU - Dicks, Lynn V.
AU - Rose, David C.
AU - Ang, Frederic
AU - Aston, Stephen
AU - Birch, A. Nicholas E.
AU - Boatman, Nigel
AU - Bowles, Elizabeth L.
AU - Chadwick, David
AU - Dinsdale, Alex
AU - Durham, Sam
AU - Elliott, John
AU - Firbank, Les
AU - Humphreys, Stephen
AU - Jarvis, Phil
AU - Jones, Dewi
AU - Kindred, Daniel
AU - Knight, Stuart M.
AU - Lee, Michael R.F.
AU - Leifert, Carlo
AU - Lobley, Matt
AU - Matthews, Kim
AU - Midmer, Alice
AU - Moore, Mark
AU - Morris, Carol
AU - Mortimer, Simon
AU - Murray, T. Charles
AU - Norman, Keith
AU - Ramsden, Stephen
AU - Roberts, Dave
AU - Smith, Laurence G.
AU - Soffe, Richard
AU - Stoate, Chris
AU - Taylor, Bryony
AU - Tinker, David
AU - Topliff, Mark
AU - Wallace, John
AU - Williams, Prysor
AU - Wilson, Paul
AU - Winter, Michael
AU - Sutherland, William J.
PY - 2018/10/16
Y1 - 2018/10/16
N2 - Sustainable intensification is a process by which agricultural productivity is enhanced whilst also creating environmental and social benefits. We aimed to identify practices likely to deliver sustainable intensification, currently available for UK farms but not yet widely adopted. We compiled a list of 18 farm management practices with the greatest potential to deliver sustainable intensification in the UK, following a well-developed stepwise methodology for identifying priority solutions, using a group decision-making technique with key agricultural experts. The list of priority management practices can provide the focal point of efforts to achieve sustainable intensification of agriculture, as the UK develops post-Brexit agricultural policy, and pursues the second Sustainable Development Goal, which aims to end hunger and promote sustainable agriculture. The practices largely reflect a technological, production-focused view of sustainable intensification, including for example, precision farming and animal health diagnostics, with less emphasis on the social and environmental aspects of sustainability. However, they do reflect an integrated approach to farming, covering many different aspects, from business organization and planning, to soil and crop management, to landscape and nature conservation. For a subset of 10 of the priority practices, we gathered data on the level of existing uptake in English and Welsh farms through a stratified survey in seven focal regions. We find substantial existing uptake of most of the priority practices, indicating that UK farming is an innovative sector. The data identify two specific practices for which uptake is relatively low, but which some UK farmers find appealing and would consider adopting. These practices are: prediction of pest and disease outbreaks, especially for livestock farms; staff training on environmental issues, especially on arable farms.
AB - Sustainable intensification is a process by which agricultural productivity is enhanced whilst also creating environmental and social benefits. We aimed to identify practices likely to deliver sustainable intensification, currently available for UK farms but not yet widely adopted. We compiled a list of 18 farm management practices with the greatest potential to deliver sustainable intensification in the UK, following a well-developed stepwise methodology for identifying priority solutions, using a group decision-making technique with key agricultural experts. The list of priority management practices can provide the focal point of efforts to achieve sustainable intensification of agriculture, as the UK develops post-Brexit agricultural policy, and pursues the second Sustainable Development Goal, which aims to end hunger and promote sustainable agriculture. The practices largely reflect a technological, production-focused view of sustainable intensification, including for example, precision farming and animal health diagnostics, with less emphasis on the social and environmental aspects of sustainability. However, they do reflect an integrated approach to farming, covering many different aspects, from business organization and planning, to soil and crop management, to landscape and nature conservation. For a subset of 10 of the priority practices, we gathered data on the level of existing uptake in English and Welsh farms through a stratified survey in seven focal regions. We find substantial existing uptake of most of the priority practices, indicating that UK farming is an innovative sector. The data identify two specific practices for which uptake is relatively low, but which some UK farmers find appealing and would consider adopting. These practices are: prediction of pest and disease outbreaks, especially for livestock farms; staff training on environmental issues, especially on arable farms.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055147242&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/fes3.148
DO - 10.1002/fes3.148
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
AN - SCOPUS:85055147242
JO - Food and Energy Security
JF - Food and Energy Security
SN - 2048-3694
M1 - e00148
ER -