Long-term ley-arable systems: Impact on soil properties

The presentation was presented at the AAB Regenerative Agriculture – Understanding the opportunities and challenges conference, held in York, 25-26 April, 202

Re-designing long-term rotations

Presentation on redesigning the pH and organic rotation long-term experiments at SRUC, Aberdeen

What we want, when we want it - how do we "fix" the Nitrogen supply challenge in organic farming?

Presentation at the International Nitrogen Workshop, Aarhus University, June 202

Competitive forests – making forests sustainable in south-west Ethiopia

The forests of south-west Ethiopia are declining and degrading largely because of the demand for agricultural land. This loss has significant global, national and local implications. This paper presents data on the economic revenues from various land uses and endeavours in the Cloud Forest and Coffee Forest, which facilitates understanding of the rationale behind the livelihood and land use choices made by individuals and communities. These choices are driven by the need to maximise economic benefits from the options available. In the Cloud Forest, the focus is on forest clearance so that smallholder agriculture production can expand. In the Coffee Forest, the increasing economic returns from small-scale coffee harvesting have meant that forest clearance has been halted, but the remaining forest is altered as a result of coffee cultivation. This paper identifies interventions that could increase the value of forest-based activities and products so that livelihood choices are more supportive of forest maintenance. It concludes that there is a need to maximise non-timber forest product revenue, alongside the development of other forest products, including wood and carbon, to make the forests competitive compared to agricultural land use. This exploitation of forest resources will not preserve these forests in pristine condition, but is a pragmatic response which could ensure that they continue to provide the majority of the economic, social and environmental services currently provided. However, to achieve this, major institutional and policy changes are required, as well as a significant investment in forest enterprise development and training and carbon funding through REDD+

Plant-Based Meat Analogues

As the world's population increases, the need for reliable protein sources is growing. Meat is considered a good source of high biological value protein, but meat is not sustainable. In Western countries, the shift toward a diet with reduced meat consumption demands healthy and tasteful meat-free food products. Following this trend, the market turned toward vegetable proteins, such as pulses, wheat gluten and soy protein, which are processed into meat-like products, also known as meat analogues. These products approximate certain aesthetic qualities, such as texture, flavor, and color, and nutritional characteristics of specific types of meat. The development of new, attractive food products is a challenge already, but this challenge becomes even greater considering that these products are meant as a substitute for meat. This chapter discusses the insights concerning plant-based meat analogues, their production and future developments