Agriculture faces many challenges, including a warming climate, more frequent occurrence of extreme climate events and increased incidence and severity of crop diseases. Control of plant diseases with major resistance genes has not always proven durable and application of crop protection chemicals is becoming problematic with the development of pathogen insensitivity to the chemicals, as well as increased regulation.
Pathogens and pests, both established and newly emerging, represent major constraints to sustainable crop production. Crop losses due to biotic stresses amount to over 25% globally and present a major barrier for addressing the United Nations SDGs ‘No Poverty’, ‘Zero Hunger’, ‘Good Health and Well-Being’ and ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’.
This project (JHI-B1-1), funded by the Scottish Government through the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division, brings together scientists at the James Hutton Institute working on plant pathogenic nematodes and oomycetes to develop a deeper understanding of pathogen biology to enable exploitation of potential weaknesses for developing future disease control in the important Scottish crops, potato and soft fruit.
Authors: Simon Gibson-Poole, Lorna Cole, Osla Jamwal-Fraser & Hernan Botero-Degiovanni
This report presents key findings and recommendations for improving agricultural practices in the North Highlands.
This year's topic is Food production, Security and Exports and the event is open to all with prior registration. During the event, soil science, food production, food quality, regulation, safety of processing and distribution will be discussed, plus the imperative of long-term supply security. The speakers will offer short, appropriately provocative presentations which will be followed by facilitated dialogue between the speakers and the audience. Supported by SEFARI Gateway, the event will include a presentation by Professor Lorna Dawson. More information about the event can be found on the RSA website.
A new network is setting sail to understand and tackle how antimicrobial resistance impacts UK food production from farm to fork. AMAST – the AMR in Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary Network, has been created to harness perspectives from across agrifood stakeholders and prepare new ways to tackle these challenges.
SEFARI and SEFARI Gateway are supporting AMAST, we are bringing in our expertise of how AMR affects our lives and environment to the network.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where microbes becoming resistant to the medicines we use to control them, presents a major threat to society and our ability to prevent or cure disease is threatened in the future.
National and international governments and health agencies are taking action to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is now supporting eight new transdisciplinary networks to tackle AMR.
The AMR in Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary (AMAST) Network has been established to understand the challenge of AMR in the UK’s agrifood system. AMAST will receive ca. £650,000 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding as part of its work to tackle infections.
The network will be co-ordinated by Dr Matthew Gilmour, based at the Quadram Institute, with an international expert advisory panel providing oversight.
“We’re really excited to be part of this new community. The agrifood system is incredibly complex with a diverse community of key players that are involved in the production of safe and nutritious foods. So understanding the challenges of AMR requires a non-traditional approach” said Dr Gilmour.
“We at SEFARI are excited to be part of this important emerging AMAST Network community tackling the thorny issue of AMR. The agrifood system is complex, with a diverse community of stakeholders involved, in producing and supplying safe and nutritious foods. This Network offers a great opportunity, through collaboration and cooperation, to bring a wide range of evidence from academia to industry and to engage effectively with primary producers to consumers. “ said Professor Lorna Dawson from The James Hutton Institute and SEFARI Gateway.
AMAST will, for the first time, bring together various agrifood communities with academic researchers from different disciplines, to identify from the bottom up the challenges AMR poses within agrifood, and then collaborate to develop solutions.
The AMAST Network will involve members from different agrifood production systems, such as crop, livestock and aquaculture, from primary production through to the consumer. It will also bring in transdisciplinary academics, including bioscientists and social scientists as well as other areas that may not have previously engaged with AMR as a challenge.
The AMAST Leadership Team is made up of the Quadram Institute, Newcastle University, Royal Veterinary College, University of Stirling, Royal Holloway University of London, Cranfield University, James Hutton Institute, Royal Agricultural University, Scotland’s Rural College, University of Bristol, University of Leicester and University of Southampton. Partners on board the AMAST Network include ADAS, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, CAB International (CABI), The Environmental Research Institute (University of Highlands and Islands), the FAI Farms, Fera Science, the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA), Menter a Busnes, NHS Highland, Ricardo, UK Agri-Tech Centre and Vet Sustain.
Through interviews, workshops and themed community meetings, all members of the network will be able to bring their perspectives on the key threats of AMR in agrifood. The network will collectively identify and prioritise areas of opportunity, as well as understanding where more research is needed to plug gaps in our understanding.
You can find out more and sign up to the Network by visiting the website: www.AMAST.org.uk
Contact us at AMAST@quadram.ac.uk
Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive directs farm support payments towards public goods which include healthier, higher welfare animals.
This policy briefing looks at the likely animal welfare impact of two current elements
1) The Annual Health and Welfare Review
2) Animal Health and Welfare capital grants under the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF)
SEFARI Gateway is delighted to provide support for a new Fellowship in collaboration with Scottish Government. We are seeking an individual researcher or small team of researchers to undertake a mapping of land use models and related research in Scotland.
Background
The Scottish Government’s Rural Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division, working with the Chief Scientific Adviser for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (CSA-ENRA), funds a variety of different research organisations to deliver outputs under ENRA policy agendas that meet the needs of policymakers on issues relating to agriculture and the environment. This includes research funded under the ENRA Research Portfolio’s Strategic Research Programme, Underpinning National Capacity, Centres of Expertise and through call-down to Strategic Portfolio and non-Portfolio research providers. CivTech projects commissioned via ENFOR and ARE, as well as research commissioned by non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies of the Scottish Government (e.g., NatureScot, FLS, SEPA) are also in scope.
Specific to Land Use and Natural Capital, there are a variety of different modelling products being developed to support Scottish Government commissioned via the above routes, that each have distinct functions and requirements. However, understanding the breadth of tools and integrating them into cohesive messaging for policymakers is challenging, and there are opportunities to optimise how existing modelling capacity is used and communicated to deliver useful outputs that feed in directly to Scottish Government policy development. There are also models being developed that while not directly land use or natural capital focused may impact on land and may be less widely “seen” within land use and natural capital policy spaces.
The knowledge gap of how available tools work together, and what inputs they require to function, limits the ability of Scottish Government to understand the capacity to develop strategic cross-cutting scenario-based modelling products that have been developed for other devolved nations (e.g., ERAMMP in Wales: Integrated Monitoring Platform (IMP) | ERAMMP). To deliver maximum value for money for the taxpayer, it is essential that Scottish Government understands and is capable of effectively using the wealth of available tools relating to land use and natural capital being developed.
The Fellowship Aims
A SEFARI Fellow would map out the various land use (including agriculture and natural capital) models produced with Scottish Government funding or supporting Scottish Government, enabling RESAS and the CSA-ENRA to identify gaps in existing capacity and better strategically plan for an integrated modelling approach for use internally in Government. In so doing the work will need to incorporate recent work mapping natural capital and land use tools, and evaluate the viability of more model integration.
Approach
The successful applicant(s) will iterate a final approach in agreement with RESAS and SEFARI Gateway.
Required Outputs:
- A mapping product that visualises the various land use and natural capital models produced for Scotland (either through the SRP, CoEs, Underpinning National Capacity, NDPBs, Executive Agencies, etc.), including their inputs/outputs, their impacts on policy, and highlighting synergies/conflicts across models. Additionally, the models will need to be defined by their scale/resolution, realism, accuracy, and compatibility with other models.
- What constitutes land use and natural capital is quite broad, and RESAS want to keep the flexibility open to make connections across research areas, particularly as interventions related to natural capital and land use will have population, employment, and other social impacts. As a starting point, the DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Net Zero Systems Tool provides a useful visual summary of the bulk of topics broadly considered under land use: NetZeroSystemsTool (cbas.cloud)
- A report highlighting the main findings of the work, including gaps in the models from a land use and natural capital perspective and areas of improvement for cross-working across SEFARI, other Portfolio partners and RESAS. This report should include an evaluation of the current blockers in Scotland to developing an integrated modelling platform that is routinely used to answer policy questions and propose alternative data sharing or governance structures to better support model integration.
- Depending on the outcomes of the work, a workshop to bring together stakeholders supporting land use and natural capital projects to better facilitate cross-working and highlight opportunities for improved integrated working to deliver policy outcomes.
- A case study for the SEFARI Gateway Website.
Resources:
- The Fellowship supports up to a maximum of 28 days FTE (funding up to a limit of £18,000) for an individual or team of (maximum 3) researchers.
- Additional funding (to a limit of £5,000) will be provided (subject to separate costing) to support workshops or other engagements (including travel and subsistence in conducting the Fellowship).
Duration:
- The deadline for final report from the Fellowship is 15th December, 2024.
- The distribution of time on the project will be jointly agreed by the Fellow(s), Scottish Government and SEFARI Gateway.
Practicalities
The details of the final Fellowship work plan will be developed, and agreed, between the successful Fellow(s) and a project support team from SEFARI and Scottish Government. There is a maximum of 28 days available for project delivery from commencement – the exact number of days, their timing, and their pattern through the working week will be discussed but the project must report by 15th December 2024.
Funding (up to a maximum of £18,000) will be available to cover all salary costs. Please note that costs should be submitted net of VAT recovered by the applicant. Applicants should seek advice on appropriate VAT treatment of proposed funding. Travel and subsistence and to support any workshop costs will be funded separate to the FTE costs and up to a maximum of £5,000.
A Fellowship Support Team, composed of RESAS, CSA-ENRA, SEFARI/SEFARI Gateway will assist with links and access to information; help guide analysis and presentation and on workshop creation.
Further Details
- The central focus of this Fellowship is to the ENRA Portfolio. The Fellowship is open to applicants from staff:
- from any SEFARI Organisation
- ENRA Portfolio Centres of Expertise
- Staff within any UK Higher Education Institution (or Research Institute)
- Please note, you do not need to have been previously funded by Scottish Government via the Portfolio to qualify for SEFARI Gateway funding.
- Applicants must have the support of their organisation
- Sign-off should be at the level deemed appropriate for each organisation (please talk to your line manager), but Directors/Chief Executives of your Institute (or University school as appropriate) should be made aware.
- The taking of such an opportunity should not result in a candidate going beyond the end of any agreed contract they may have with their employer.
- It is recognised that individual circumstances are different and support levels will vary depending on salary, distance from the opportunity and so on – the support level will be kept under review to try and maintain a fair and equitable competition and process. The organisation of the successful fellow(s) should not expect to meet any costs beyond that paid for by SEFARI Gateway.
- The successful candidate(s) will be expected to contribute to relevant meetings or outputs for the project partners as the Fellowship progresses and to generate knowledge exchange related content for SEFARI Gateway (support will be offered on this).
Applications
Applications should be made to: info@sefari.scot and should include a cover letter (two pages of detail on your suitability or that of the team) and a two-page CV (or up to 6 pages for a team). Decisions on who to Interview will be based solely on this letter and CV(s).
The cover letter should include:
- Why are you interested in this opportunity and what you would hope to get from it?
- What skills and experience you would bring to this role
- How you would use your current work to underpin the project
- What you would do to take the learning back into your organisation.
Team-based applications should demonstrate how they propose to manage individual contributions to satisfy the degree of multi-disciplinary integration required and clearly identify a Fellowship Team Lead.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on 28th August 2024 with interviews to be held within two weeks following from that date.
If you have any questions on this, or any general aspect of the SEFARI Fellowship scheme, please contact Michelle Wilson Chalmers, Manager, SEFARI Gateway at: michelle.wilson@sefari.scot
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland specialise in the development and application of the quantitative methods needed to enhance scientific knowledge and impact. They are embedded in the majority of projects within the programme and in addition, lead their own projects developing bioinformatics, modelling and statistical methods and tools that can be used by scientists delivering research in areas including, but not limited to, climate change, global net zero, sustainable agriculture and farm-to-fork food safety. This document summarises the projects within this theme.
Rural Scotland comprises 98% of Scotland’s land mass and is home to 17% of Scotland’s people. In 2018, the GVA of the rural economy was reported to be £37.6 billion which represents 26% of Scotland’s total. The work in the Rural Futures theme is investigating some key long standing issues for our rural and island communities. The projects are summarised in this document.
Scotland’s natural resources (air, soil, water, biodiversity) supply many essential ecosystem services which benefit human health, safety and wellbeing. They are also key to addressing climate change and biodiversity decline, and in promoting sustainable land use and a green economy. To protect, enhance and optimise the benefits we receive from our natural resources, we need better information about their status and quality, how and why they are changing, and how best to manage and protect them. This document provides a summary of each project within the Natural Resources theme.