The report comes from the Plants for the Future European Technology Platform and includes contributions from researchers at Scotland’s James Hutton Institute (JHI). European Technology Platforms (ETP) are designed to be ‘champions for growth’, with the Plants for the Future ETP seeking to support the transition to more sustainable and innovative agricultural systems that remain within planetary boundaries.

The JHI website reports that to actively contribute to this transition, the Plants for the Future ETP established a multi-stakeholder working group on sustainable agriculture comprising experts from academia, the seed and breeding industry, agricultural service providers and the farming community.

The aim of the working group was to consider, from a plant sector perspective, “the challenges, and opportunities of agricultural value chains in a holistic way, while developing a vision for future systems spanning food, feed, and biobased raw materials”.

The group has identified three main and interdependent drivers that “should be developed in parallel and which will enable the transition towards more environmentally and socio-economically sustainable agricultural systems”. These comprise:

• Innovative agricultural produce will provide sustainable and healthy food, feed and biobased raw materials for the bioeconomy, meeting consumer needs and societal expectations.
• Resilient production (eco)systems will provide sufficient qualitative, nutritious food, feed, and biobased raw materials for society, while promoting One Health.
• Agricultural data will be harnessed to support agricultural systems by leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to balance innovative agricultural produce and resilient production (eco)systems, matching produce with demand and enabling sustainable agricultural production through tailored advice.

Dr Roy Neilson, senior soil scientist at JHI and co-vice-chair of the Plants for the Future working group, told the James Hutton website: “The report outlines the recommendations for research and innovation needed to support the transition towards more sustainable agricultural systems to meet the goals of the EU Green Deal and envisions how agriculture will likely transition in the short, medium and long term.

“The research is clearly aligned with the Institute’s vision and research, and there are several projects highlighted in the document that Hutton either lead or is a project partner. We look forward to engaging with stakeholders to deliver future agricultural sustainability.”

For more information:

• Read more on the James Hutton Institute website here
• Read the full report on the Plants for the Future ETP website here