1 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

The Role of Science in Agriculture

Sir Mark WalportChief Scientific Adviser to HM Government

2 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

• Knowledge translated to economic advantage

• Infrastructure resilience

• Underpinning policy with evidence

• Science for emergencies

• Advocacy and leadership for science

Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Credit: iStockphoto

3 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

This is what I do

Pesticide risks and resistance

Demographic change Animal health

Faced with challenges, my role is to:• Draw in experts• Encourage cross-silo thinking• Make connections between

different areas of science• Question existing ideas

Climate change

Credit: ilfede/istockphoto

Credit: Alamy Credit: Thoursie/sxc.hu Credit: National Science Foundation

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Importance of agriculture

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-agricultural-technologies-strategy

5 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Agriculture in the UK

60% self-

sufficient

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agriculture-in-the-united-kingdom-2013

Credit: Timothy Titus/CC BY-SA 3.0Credit: Jacquie Wingate/CC BY-SA 1.0

Credit: Daderot/CC BY-SA 3.0

Credit: Ben Salter/CC BY 2.0

Credit: Stefan Kühn/CC BY-SA 3.0

Credit: Chris huh/CC BY-SA 4.0

6 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Food Gap: WRI analysis based on Alexandratos, N., and J. Bruinsma. 2012. World agriculture towards

2030/2050: The 2012 revision. Rome: FAO

• The world will need to produce 69% more food calories in 2050 than we did in 2006.

• We can’t just redistribute food to close the food gap.

• Need innovation across the supply chain

Feeding the world

2006

2050

Required increasein food caloriesto feed 9.6 billionpeople by 205069%

7 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Feeding the world sustainably

Climate change

Competition for land use

Biodiversity

Plant and Animal Health

Credit: Meredithw/CC BY-SA 3.0 Credit: USGS/PD

Credit: USDA/PD

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Competition for land use: Land and Population

Credit: vauvau/CC BY 2.0

9 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Competition for land use

Credit: Ceinturion/CC BY-SA 3.0 Credit: Pam Brophy/CC BY-SA 2.0 Credit: David Lovelace

Credit: treehugger Credit: Arnejohs/PD Credit: Bristol Parks

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Competition for land use: Use of natural resources

Credit: Richard Dorrell/CC BY-SA 2.0

Credit: Stephen Codrington/CC BY 2.5 Credit: Queryzo/CC BY-SA 3.0

11 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Image credit: CraneStation, FlickrFood and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

Climate change

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Mitigate

Adapt

or Suffer

Responding to climate change

Credit: Harvey McDaniel

Credit: Ian Britton/CC-BY-NC-ND-3.0

Credit: Reuters

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Biodiversity

Credit: Jeffdelonge/CC BY-SA 3.0

Credit: Charlesjsharp/CC BY-SA 3.0

Credit: Gaudete/CC BY-SA 2.5

Credit: Maciej A. Czyzewski/CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit: Tom Hynes/CC BY-SA 3.0

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Biodiversity: distinguishing risk and hazardBees & Pesticides

Credit: ilfede/istockphoto

Credit: Orangeaurochs/CC BY 2.0

Credit: Fotosearch

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Animal and plant health:The scale of the problem

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Animal health: Bovine TB

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Plant health: Phytophtora

Sudden oak death

•Kills oak and other trees

•Larch trees most affected in the UK

•Deliberate felling in England, Scotland

and Wales

Potato blight•Great Irish famine

•£3.7 billion in damage to crops each year worldwide

•Potatoes need to be sprayed 20 times/ year in the UK

Credit@ ARS/PDCredit: PLOS/CC BY 2.5

18 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Animal and plant health Science Capability Project

• To determine the UK’s needs and evidence capabilities to underpin best practice management during the next 10-15 years

• Guided by the UK Gov and Devolved Administrations, the Research Councils, industry and academia

Credit: Thoursie/sxc.hu

Credit: Reuters

19 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Challenges to UK farming

• Public confidence in food safety

• Fragmentation of farming industry/ Ageing of workforce

• The UK and European competitive environment

?Credit: Karen Wang

Credit: iStockphoto

Credit: iStockphoto

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Ageing of the farmer population

Average age of workforce=37

Average age of workforce=55

Only 3% of those living in the countryside are involved in agriculture

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Science in Farming: Food ProvenanceGeographical Origin Isotope Approach

Granitic rock

PhotosynthesisSea-spray

Fertiliser

Meteorological variation

Confirm Authenticity

2H

15N

13C34S

87Sr

Geological variation

Metabolism

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Science in Farming: Precision Agriculture

Observing, measuring and responding to changes using satellites

Optimises returns on inputs while preserving resources

Vegetation density

Water deficit

Crop Stress

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Science in Farming: New Crops

Rothamsted Pest Resistant Wheat•Developed in the UK

•Produces pest repellant pheromone

•Reduces environmental impact

Blight-Resistant Potato•Currently potatoes are sprayed 20 times/ year

•Developed in the UK

•No risk of outcrossing/ genetic contamination (tubers)

Credit: Rothamsted Credit: Ronald Hutten/CC BY 3.0

24 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

New Technologies:Managing risk, not avoiding it

GMOs

•What organism?

•What gene?

•What purpose?

•The specific application – not the generic technology

Credit: Rosalee Yagihara/CC BY 2.0

Credit: IRRI/CC BY 2.0

25 Country Land and Business Association 2014 – Science in Agriculture

Agri-Tech strategy

The UK as a world leader in agricultural technology, innovation and sustainability

To maintain this position, we need to enable:

•Collaboration between government, researchers and industry

•Increased investment

•Attracting the best people into agriculture

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The policy challenge: Viewing difficult issues through lenses

1. Biannual Public Attitudes Tracker, Wave 7, November 2013 (Food Standards Agency)

2. British Beekeepers Association, Winter Survival Survey, June 2013

3. http://www.croplifeamerica.org/crop-protection/pesticide-facts

Respondents concerned about use of pesticides to grow food1

Use of crop protection products increase crop

productivity by 20 – 50%3

Bee colony losses in

2012/13 reported by British

Beekeepers Association2

34%

25%

Credit: Thomas Shahan/CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0

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Solutions involve all tools

Technology transfer

International collaboration/ investment

Public dialogue

YouTube: Fair use

Credit: Martin Barraud/Getty Images

Credit: BananaStock/Getty Images

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@uksciencechief

www.bis.gov.uk/go-science