What will affect the future resilience of Scottish arable and horticulture production?
21 September 2022, Scotland: Scientists at the James Hutton Institute are researching ways to prepare for and prevent future threats to arable and horticultural production in Scotland. In work funded by the Scottish Government’sRural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS), the research aims to prioritise threats to crop production and analyse likely future scenarios with stakeholders to find ways of avoiding these risks.
An online survey has been launched to seek the views of farmers, farming organisations, agricultural suppliers, processors, retailers, and industry regulators about what they perceive to be the main threats to arable and horticulture production in Scotland.
The information from the survey will help researchers to characterise the likely future scenarios which will be analysed with stakeholders to find ways of mitigating potential risks to crop production.
Dr Alison Karley, a natural scientist at the Institute, explains: “The changing climate, pest and disease pressures, and global events can affect the productivity of agriculture and trade in agricultural goods. One way to mitigate against negative effects on agricultural production is to identify the most likely issues and envisage ways that farmers, industry, policy, and other stakeholders can prepare for the future.
“The views and participation from farmers and other agricultural stakeholders are vital to this research”, adds Dr Luz Maria Lozada, “as they will inform and help to refine recommendations to policy in Scotland.”
The results of this research will be made publicly available later next year. To take part in this 10-minute online survey please click this link.
Your participation is extremely valuable, anonymous and completely voluntary. Your knowledge and experience about threats to arable and horticulture production will inform and help to refine recommendations to policy to shape the future of farming in Scotland.
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