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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 this RD is to develop safe, highly effective, optimised, novel vaccines for the control of the most production- and welfare-limiting endemic diseases of Scottish livestock. The key drivers for this research are:
- Animal Disease
- 2016-2022
Place-based policy and rural Scotland: To improve current understanding of (i) the main reasons for differences in economic performance and social outcomes across rural areas and small towns of Scotland, and (ii) how policies can help to deliver positive outcomes and address these disparities.
- Rural Communities
- 2016-2022
Improved risk management and control of plant diseases: to be achieved through an understanding of key epidemiological parameters and optimal ways of manipulating them. These parameters underpin the development of epidemiological models that can be used to predict the effect of management strategies, including crop protection and host resistance. This work aims to define the parameters for problematic and economically important diseases of crops of particular importance to Scotland in order to deliver practical disease control solutions.
- Plant Disease
- Crop Improvement
- 2016-2022
A major constraint on achieving food security is crop loss due to pests and diseases. The main aim of this work is to develop a better understanding of the plant-pest interactions that threaten arable crop production in Scotland and elsewhere. Understanding the mechanisms that pathogens use to invade and colonise host plants, in parallel with the processes by which plants resist infection, will provide key insights to drive long term plant protection strategies.
- Plant Disease
- Crop Improvement
- 2016-2022
Plant, Soil, Water Interactions: To identify the interactions between plants and soils that can be exploited to achieve food security and sustainable production of sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Crop yield and quality, biodiversity, and soil health are largely determined by the interactions between plant roots and the soil. The focus is on understanding, and modelling, the physical, chemical and biological interactions between plant roots, soil and water, which could improve crop and grassland production efficiency and sustainability.
- Crop Improvement
- Soils
- Water
- 2016-2022
The aim of this research is to evaluate the potential to manage trade-offs and deliver multiple benefits from natural assets at the landscape scale. Focussing on agri-environment and woodland expansion schemes, together with integrated catchment management, the research uses practical examples to explore trade-offs and impacts taking into account social and cultural values as well environmental considerations in relation to land use and land use change.
- Natural Capital
- 2016-2022
The aim of the proposal is to undertake an assessment of food waste along food supply chains (dairy, fruits and vegetables) and consumption in Scotland, and provide coherent and robust strategies to reduce food loss and waste across the chain and, where waste cannot be reduced, identify valorisation routes for coproduct/income generation.
- Circular Economy & Waste
- 2016-2022
We aim to address a research gap by suggesting how policy can be designed to target maximum diversity conservation (including co-benefits) at minimum cost; where cost and benefits are both financial and social. Sub-objectives are:
- Large Scale Models
- Livestock Improvement
- Crop Improvement
- 2016-2022
Resilience of ecosystems and biodiversity. This work aims to study the different aspects of resilience of widlife species and natural ecosystems to improve our understanding of how biodiversity and ecosystems are likely to change in response to environmental and climate change, and how to manage them to increase their resilience to change.
- Biodiversity
- Natural Capital
- 2016-2022
The aim of this RD is to address how well Scotland’s rural industries (e.g. farming, forestry and tourism) can cope with outside pressures such as price volatility, new trade agreements and changes in government policies. The key drivers for this research are:
- Improving Agricultural Practice
- Land Use
- Rural Economy
- Land Reform
- 2016-2022