Agriculture is the cultivation of land and the breeding of both animals and plants for the purpose of sustaining life. The development of agriculture allowed the expansion and growth of the human race. The major agricultural products are grouped into foods, fuels, fibres and raw materials. then sub-groups such as cereals, vegetables, fruits oils etc. within food.
Modern
Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilisers have massive enhanced the yields from cultivation. However, the effects of these have caused widespread ecological and environmental damage. Problems are also present when concerning selective breeding. Although the results are prosperous there are active concerns about animal welfare. Backlash against the environmental effects of conventional agriculture. This resulting in organic, regenerative and sustainable agricultural movements.
RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation from the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, walks us through the priorities to support Alberta’s agriculture, a crucial economic driver for Canada.
APHIS, part of the USDA, is using a risk-based approach to protect U.S. agriculture from potentially devastating plant pests and diseases, as we discover here.
The Office of Conservation & Water coordinates the development of U.S. foreign policy on conserving and sustainably managing the world’s important ecosystems, as we find out here.
The European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) reveals its thoughts on the value of plant science and the many improvements it can generate in areas such as sustainable agriculture, forestry and environmental conservation.
Velemir Ninkovic, Associate Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), explores plant-plant communication for sustainable pest management.
Aarthi Janakiraman, Industry Manager, Chemicals and Advanced Materials at TechVision, Frost & Sullivan, discusses advances in plant pathology, with a focus on the impact of this on tomato diseases.
Greg Rosenthal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service details the importance of multiple safeguards systems approaches - when it comes to making pests run a gauntlet to safeguard crops and forests.
The government has launched a call for evidence, giving everyone from consumers, farmers and food producers, to scientists and academics, an opportunity to shape the food system of the future.
Here, Andre Laperrière, Executive Director of Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN), comments on the latest UN report on meat as a cause of carbon emissions.
Nigel Wilcock, Executive Director, Institute of Economic Development, expresses his frustrations with the lack of communication on the Shared Prosperity Fund consultation.
Philippe Rolshausen, Cooperative Extension Specialist based at University of California, Riverside, explains how the plant microbiome can be harnessed for commercial applications.
