Conscience Consulting’s Post

#Biocontrol is the future within an holistic approach based on agroecological practices. #sustainable #resilient #agriculture #IPM #agroecology #organic

The Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture is ongoing, with the next meeting scheduled later this month. Last week, we issued our input to the dialogue, sharing how we can best support farmers and agriculture in an age of technological innovation. Here are some of our key points… 👩🏼🌾 If we want farmers to continue being profitable while operating more sustainably, they need access to credible and effective tools, such as #Biocontrol: natural alternatives proven to control pests and diseases on crops. 💶 To successfully access these tools, farmers need incentives and financial support through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 💡 Better bridges need to be built between knowledge and innovation, to provide a better understanding of the opportunities available to transition to #SustainableAgriculture. 🍎 Consumers should know more about the benefits of biocontrol to help inform their decision-making when buying produce. This could be achieved by farm certification schemes as well as publicly funded awareness-raising campaigns. The world is moving towards more biological approaches to pest and disease control, but the EU continues to lag behind, with slower authorisation and market access for biocontrol products. We have the tools, but the EU needs to take action to support sustainable agriculture methods like biocontrol. Read our full input to the Strategic Dialogue: https://lnkd.in/eRMYqskX #Biologicals #Agriculture #Farmers #Environment #FutureofAgriculture

📃Scientific paper: Biocontrol strategies: an eco-smart tool for integrated pest and diseases management Abstract: For the burgeoning global population, sustainable agriculture practices are crucial for accomplishing the zero-hunger goal. The agriculture sector is very concerned about the rise in insecticide resistance and the Modern Environmental Health Hazards (MEHHs) that are problems for public health due to on pesticide exposure and residues. Currently, farming practices are being developed based on microbial bio-stimulants, which have fewer negative effects and are more efficient than synthetic agro-chemicals. In this context, one of the most important approaches in sustainable agriculture is the use of biocontrol microbes that can suppress phytopathogens and insects. Simultaneously, it is critical to comprehend the role of these microbes in promoting growth and disease control, and their application as biofertilizers and biopesticides, the success of which in the field is currently inconsistent. Therefore, editorial is part of a special issue titled "Biocontrol Strategies: An Eco-smart Tool for Integrated Pest and Disease Management" which focuses on biocontrol approaches that can suppress the biotic stresses, alter plant defense mechanisms, and offer new eco-smart ways for controlling plant pathogens and insect pests under sustainable agriculture. Discover the rest of the scientific article on es/iode ➡️https://etcse.fr/S8E

Global Call for Agrifood system Innovations and Stories of capacity development for innovation The Tropical Agriculture platform Agriculture Platform (TAP), a G20 initiative to promote agricultural innovation in the tropics, hosted and led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the financial contribution of the European Union, and with TAPipedia, the knowledge portal focused on capacities for agricultural innovation, are proud to launch a global call for innovation stories in agricultural innovation. TAP is looking for stories that demonstrate how innovative practices and technologies are being used to address challenges in the agriculture sector, such as improving yields, reducing the use of harmful chemicals, increasing resilience to climate change, and more. Closing data: 15 November 2023

We're entering the age of contextual #data in every sense ... where we will have to leverage the broad availability of information to provide added #value to all industries. 📈 #regenerativeagriculture #climateaction

It's time to start using the data gathered over the past 20 years in innovative ways to give it value and provide individual decisions for farmers. With precision agriculture, we've collected a lot of data. Now it's time for decision agriculture to use this data in specific contexts. Automation, vertical farming, and other aspects of agriculture will rely more and more on data in the next 10-20 years. #DataScience #PrecisionAgriculture #DecisionAgriculture #AgTech #innovation In the European Union (EU), the European Commission promotes its strategy “Farm to Fork”, which seeks to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50% and fertilisers by 20% before 2030. Additionally, it aims to expand organic farming to 25% of agricultural land. The plan also includes a Carbon Farming Initiative and a regulatory framework for certifying carbon removals. With its low carbon strategy, the French government aims to green agriculture through the development of carbon sequestration in soils. Launched by the government in 2019, a Low Carbon Label allows the official certification of projects and engagements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and capture CO2. Farmers can obtain the label through different agronomic techniques, such as agroecology or conservation agriculture. Labelled farms can then receive financial support from companies or local authorities wishing to offset their CO2 emissions through the so-called “carbon credits”, linking societal engagement to economic value for farmers. In the framework of France Relance, the French recovery plan adopted to address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, the ministry of Agriculture is furthermore offering subventions to allow farmers to conduct a carbon diagnostic on their farm. Endowed with €10 million, the measure launched in 2021 finances 90% of the cost of carbon diagnostics for farmers having settled less than five years ago. It provides them with a personalised action plan to help them decarbonise their farms. Thank you Konstantin Haralampiev and AgrovarCC for taking part in our webinar about sustainability in Agrifood.

In mid-2024, IBPRS-PIB will kick-off the realization of the project within the framework of the LIFE programme – AGROWISE Guidelines for farm-specific rules for mitigating pesticide impacts while ensuring sustainable agriculture. AGROWISE is a an 18-month project which is led by a consortium of 8 European research organizations: INRAE – Coordinator (France), Zalf (Croatia), JKI (Germany), Teagasc (Ireland), University of Bologna (Italy), INHORT-PIB, IOR-PIB, and IBPRS-PIB (Poland), USAMV Bucharest (Romania), and (SLU) Sweden. The project partners will bring extensive experience and knowledge in Integrated Pest Management, crop protection, economics, collaboration with farmers, extension services, and scientific support to public authorities and policymakers. The AGROWISE overarching aim is to reduce pesticide usage in participating EU countries in an economically sustainable manner. The project comprises three primary objectives: Developing/improving tools to be used by policymakers, national offices, farmers’ associations and advisory services and individual farmers to ensure plant protection for major arable and permanent crops and grasslands, differentiated by agroclimatic conditions, in line with IPM principles and coherent with reduction targets under the Biodiversity and Farm-to-Fork strategies. Developing/strengthening support systems to make these practices economically sustainable and acceptable to farmers, including consideration of the role of different stakeholders within the food supply chain. Communicating findings on best practices in a way that is understandable by stakeholders at different levels, including farmers and identifying ways to integrate the project outcomes into regulatory mechanisms and practices.

Around the world, farming is challenged by climate change. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) aims to address this problem while also sustaining food security and productivity. In order to stimulate CSA, good policy is needed. But when do farmers accept these policies, and adopt CSA practices? In our recent paper in Agricultural Systems, María Fernanda Rodríguez, Laurens Klerkx, and myself look into how coffee farmers in Costa Rica perceive agricultural policies, and what makes them decide to adopt CSA. We studied the Costa Rican coffee sector and conducted surveys and focus groups with coffee farmers, experts, extension specialists, and coffee cooperatives.   We show that the consistency and the comprehensiveness of policies are key in order to increase farmers' acceptance of CSA and sustainable practices, and so are psychological drivers of CSA. So, it is important to note that decision making is not done by farmers in isolation, but takes place in interaction with the agricultural policy environment.   The open access article can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eMuifeck

💡We have just released a post-event report containing key learnings from the inaugural ‘Mooving on Methane’ event held in New Plymouth on 28th May 2024, where farmers, researchers, scientists, dairy companies and entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of methane-reducing tools and technologies came together to discuss: - The emerging tools and technological solutions which would lead to a significant reduction on NZ farms. - Timetable for their implementation. - Barriers and enablers to successful implementation. The event highlighted the great job that farmers are already doing to reduce emissions on-farm, but they need access to more advanced methane reducing tools and technologies to help productivity and profits in the future. Some technologies are already under development nationally, with some already available globally. The event also highlighted the urgency to act - a key action being the need to review the regulations that underpin the introduction of methane inhibitors in Aotearoa New Zealand. With two-thirds of Taranaki farms involved in dairy farming, and as the home of some major dairy processing plants, it is an important issue for our regional economy, rural communities and jobs. Read the full report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gvgGXimH Nestlé Fonterra Ravensdown CH4Global Dairy Trust Taranaki PGG Wrightson Ltd Climate Change Commission Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Ruminant BioTech Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) Miraka Limited AgriZeroNZ New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre

Embrapa's legacy as an agricultural knowledge institution is greatly impactful for food systems in Brazil and beyond. In this paper, we analyze the framing of sustainable agriculture by Embrapa's leadership and discuss its implications for food system transformations. https://rdcu.be/dtGo0