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Research
A multi-million pound programme of strategic research delivered over five years providing science and evidence to support policymakers and its partners. Informed by strong partnerships and the needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Science at the heart of society contributing to the health, wealth and wellbeing of Scotland and beyond.
Explore our research projects
The aim of research deliverable is to explore the uptake of practices which improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of land, crop and livestock management throughout Scotland. The research builds on previous work within the RESAS Strategic Programme and on collaborations with UK and international partners.
- Improving Agricultural Practice
- 2016-2022
The aim of this research is to develop integrated management systems to enhance economic and environmental sustainability in agriculture, focusing on two production systems: arable and ruminant livestock. First, new technologies and management strategies rom existing research and linked RDs (primarily 2.1.6, 2.1.8, 2.3.4, 2.3.8) will be reviewed to identify state-of-the-art best practice options.
- Improving Agricultural Practice
- Food Supply & Security
- Food & Drink Improvements
- 2016-2022
The aim of this research is to understand the importance of factors that modify reliance on pesticides and integrate these into Integrated Pest Management (IPM) toolboxes tailored to key Scottish horticultural and arable crops. Novel control options, which reduce reliance on pesticides, are required because of reduced availability of plant protection products. IPM tools are being developed and evaluated in optimised combinations to suppress key pest and disease threats for each cropping system. This work integrates contributions from other areas of research e.g.
- Plant Disease
- 2016-2022
The aim of this RD is to improve livestock production, efficiency and welfare, whilst decreasing the use of resources and impact on the environment. This will be achieved using current and next generation tools, focussing on genomics and targeted gene approaches for production (growth, efficiency), maternal and health characteristics (including economically important endemic diseases).
- Livestock Improvement
- 2016-2022
This research aims to examine how resilience in rural communities can be enhanced through processes of local empowerment and the role of wider networks and partnerships in facilitating the enhancement of resilience. It will also consider how stakeholders’ (including academics, policymakers, practitioners and communities) understandings of rural community resilience can be developed to create collaborative initiatives in the future.
- Rural Communities
- 2016-2022
This research has three main aims. Firstly, it seeks to build a better understanding of the characteristics of small and medium sized food and drink enterprises in Scotland. To fulfil this it will conduct a large-scale representative survey of Scottish food and drink enterprises. The other aims will build on this survey, in the context of feedback from project stakeholders. The second aim is to build a better understanding of the characteristics and development of short food and drink supply networks in Scotland by conducting in-depth research with food and drink producers.
- Food Supply & Security
- 2016-2022
Natural Asset Inventory and Natural Capital Accounts: the aim is to develop a spatially-referenced register of Scotland’s natural assets and contribute to a set of natural capital accounts for Scotland that can over time track the progress of Scotland's green growth aspirations.
- Natural Capital
- 2016-2022
Novel Crops: To address opportunities for producing alternative protein and carbohydrate crops in Scottish agriculture for fish and crustacean feed, bioenergy, bio-refining, animal feed and human consumption, and to develop design criteria for integrating suitable alternative legume and non-legume crops as sole and intercrops within rotations whilst also accounting for agronomic and ecosystem services.
There are two main areas of research:
- Crop Improvement
- 2016-2022
To develop novel tools and approaches to improve diagnosis of the most economically important endemic diseases of livestock in Scotland, the UK and Europe. The research will lead to the development of new and more versatile technologies for the accurate diagnosis of infectious disease and investigation of complex disease syndromes (such as reproductive and respiratory diseases), which will help to determine the interaction between the microbes (bacteria and viruses) present and the animal hosts they infect.
- Animal Disease
- Water
- 2016-2022
The aim of this work is to develop novel approaches to greenhouse gas mitigation in the crop and livestock sectors though improved understanding of underlying processes, and to assess the mitigation potential of new measures using field experiments and modelling in order to extrapolate the findings. The work also aims to provide policy and practical guidelines to greenhouse gas mitigation in Scottish farming, through a wide process of engagement with key stakeholders.
- Agricultural Greenhouse Gases
- 2016-2022