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The organisers of a conference which took place at Scotland’s Rural College on Wednesday said agriculture will have to change and adapt if agriculturalists hope to tackle the growing issue of global food security.

SRUC experts are not alone in their thinking; the European Commission has said that, as agriculture is believed to be the key driver of biodiversity loss worldwide, "we can expect ecosystem services and entire ecosystems … to collapse by 2050 if production systems and consumption patterns do not change."

Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead opened the event, which was attended by top international experts, who presented ideas for adaptations to achieve 'sustainable intensification' – buzzword for the process by which policy makers hope to increase food production whilst minimising the effect of agriculture on the environment – in order to feed a growing world population.

Sustainable intensification remains relatively poorly defined. Some environmentalists, including Friends of the Earth, have claimed the new vogue term risks becoming little more than an acceptable means of promoting 'intensification', or business as usual approaches. Others have said that talks around sustainable intensification, with a focus on agri-tech, tend to ignore wider socio-political issues such as inequality and access to land, and that a more holistic, agroecological perspective would provide a better hope for tackling hunger and malnutrition.

In a report analysing the concept, published in October, FoE said, "Sustainable intensification has become very influential very quickly. However, by excluding nothing the concept has become a catch-all, and is used to endorse existing policies. It has been adopted by organizations representing the biotechnology, pesticide and fertilizer industries [and] by focussing on increasing yield, sustainable intensification fails to address the political and economic issues that prevent millions of people from having access to safe and nutritious food."

However, SRUC maintained those at the conference took "a significant step" in understanding and developing this "vital new concept." Presentations looked at rooftop farming (no soil and no waste) and biochar use in China, as well as more conventional areas of discussion including how to quadruple our cereal yield, mitigating N2O emissions from soy beans, methane emissions of Brazilian beef cattle and carbon neutral livestock farming.

Wednesday's conference was organised by SRUC's Carbon Management Centre. Its Head, Professor Bob Rees, said it is clear that farming practices will need to change to make sustainable intensification work. He commented, "Adaptations need to take place to mitigate the effects of climate change, and also to make better use of resources. This is possible because there is still plenty of slack, or inefficiency, in the system. However, change can be difficult, and we have to help farmers through advice and education on the best management practices."

Richard Lochhead added, "It is important that food production is never taken for granted, and that we face up to the important challenges ahead. This means making the best use of our land resources, making sure that we use the best science available and having farmers equipped with the right skills to grow crops that meets consumers' expectations in terms of quality and sustainability." He added that the concept of sustainable intensification would fit in with the government's desire to transition to a low carbon economy.

SRUC principle and CEO Professor Bob Webb added that the UK Government's new Agricultural Technologies Strategy, released in July, provided a good means of rolling out sustainable intensification methods. Professor Webb sits on the Leadership Council which developed the government strategy.

Rooftop growing, wasteless means of producing food where people live

One of the key concepts up for discussion on Wednesday was 'urban agriculture'. Whilst it remains relatively young and underdeveloped in the West, urban growing has long been established elsewhere (notably Cuba) and is quickly gaining ground as a sustainable way to produce food where people live. Delegates in Edinburgh heard how a larger, more urbanised population could be fed on food grown within their own cities.

In a presentation by Dr Valentini Pappa, an SRUC researcher currently working with Zurich University of Applied Science, the possibilities and practicalities of urban farming were explored. Dr Pappa's team helped develop a £500,000 aquaponic farm on a rooftop in the city of Basel in Switzerland with the aim of studying how successful the system could be.

Aquaponic farms combine fish breeding and vegetable growing in a no soil hydroponic system. They produce little to no waste, require minimal fertilisers or pesticides and can produce crops throughout the year. Amongst the diverse range of urban agriculture projects being pursued in Chicago is the world's largest indoor farm, which opened its doors earlier this year and has already commercialised just such a system.
 

Speaking at SRUC's Sustainable Intensification Conference, Dr Pappa said, "Aquaponics can help secure food security by increasing the food production within an already used space, and because the food is grown so locally these systems are very low in food miles. Aquaponics is a key technology for resource efficiency."

The 260m2 research farm is capable of producing 5000kg of vegetables and 800kg of fish every year. The farm has produced all sorts of vegetables including peas, salad leaves, tomatoes and courgettes.

In Basel there is an estimated 2,000,000m2 of vacant rooftop space. Researchers worked out that if just 5 percent of that space (100,000m2) was used for aquaponic production, 8 – 20 percent of the fish and vegetables consumed in Basel (home to 170,000 people) could come from these urban farms. If relaised this would not just drive down the emissions footprint of food production, but also the costs and pollution associated with transporting food.

The Basel project was run in partnership with Urban Farmers who have designed an Urban Farmers' Box; a 18m2 greenhouse style system which they believe will produce enough fish and vegetables to feed a family of three. The system will provide 60kg of fish and 120kg of vegetables annually.