All posts by FX Team

Facts, Latest News

BEST REPORTS FROM THE PAST 12 MONTHS

As 2019 gets underway, we want to make sure that you’re equipped with the most up to date information on plant science in sustainable agriculture. So we have created a list of the most influential reports published over the last 12 months. Take a look to make sure you didn’t miss any!

01

A Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming

Global Warming of 1.5°C: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

This United Nations report looks at the predicted impact of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. It established, among other findings, that “populations at disproportionately higher risk of adverse consequences with global warming of 1.5°C and beyond include local communities dependent on agricultural or coastal livelihoods”.

Download the report

02

Report of Projected Insect Pressure Increases

Increase in Crop Losses to Insect Pests in a Warming Climate: Deutsch, Tewksbury, Tigchelaar, Battisti, Merrill, Huey, and Naylor

Climate change causes erratic weather patterns, extreme temperatures, and changes in natural resources. This report adds increases in insect pressure to crops to the list of things farmers have to worry about if temperature rises by two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under this scenario, farmers could lose 59 billion kilos of wheat –more than the entire wheat production in the US in 2017, 92 billion kilos of rice, and 62 billion kilos of maize.

Download the report

03

Annual Update on Status of Biotech Crops Around the World

Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2017: ISAAA

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) released its annual global biotech crop acreage report, which features data on the environmental and socio-economic benefits of plant biotech. ISAAA reported that the adoption of biotech crops has reduced CO2 emissions by 27.1 billion kg and conserved biodiversity by saving 22.5 million hectares of land from agricultural use in 2016.

Additionally, in developing countries, planting biotech crops has helped alleviate hunger by increasing the incomes for millions of smallholder farmers and their families, bringing improved financial stability to more than 65 million people.

Download the report

04

Pesticide Safety, Investment, Efficacy Trends Report

Evolution of the Crop Protection Industry Since 1960: Phillips McDougall

This report demonstrates how pesticides have improved since 1960. A more diverse portfolio is available for farmers to fight crop pests of all sorts and as the growth of the sector continues, the safety and efficacy have increased while toxicity of the products has decreased.

Download the report

05

Analysis of The Current Position of Agriculture in the EU

The Challenges Facing Agriculture and The Plant Science Industry in the EU: AgbioInvestor  

This report analyses the European agricultural sector’s productivity, policy and support, regulatory environments, and reliance on imports. It highlights the obstacles put in place by a political system that does not prioritize agricultural innovation and shows the consequences of reduced access to modern agricultural tools.

Download the report

06

More Land Needed to Farm Organic Food than Non-Organic

Assessing the Efficiency of Changes in Land Use for Mitigating Climate Change: Searchinger, Wirsenius, Beringer & Dumas

In this report, published by Nature International Journal of Science, it was confirmed that farming organic food can result in higher emissions and greater land use due to loss from pests and lower yields. Biodiversity and carbon sequestration are important in the fight against climate change, and preserving land while feeding a growing population can be achieved with agricultural innovation like plant biotechnology and crop protection.

Download the report

07

Post-Brexit Possibilities for Regulation of Plant Biotechnology

UK Plant Genetics: A Regulatory Environment to Maximize Advantage to the UK Economy Post Brexit: Brookes, 2018

This paper examines the economic value of the UK plant genetics sector and the most appropriate regulatory environment for maximizing long-term benefits to the UK economy outlined in three scenarios: continued regulatory alignment with the EU, improved implementation and some change; making the current GMO system work “as intended”, or the UK sets its own path of divergence from EU regulations on GMOs.

Download the report

08

Review of Genetically Engineered Crops Safety Information

Food and Feed Safety of Genetically Engineered Food Crops, by Delaney B, Goodman RE, Ladics GS

This article reviews the safety information regarding Genetically Engineered (GE) crops and foods, by evaluating over 20 years of research in genetic engineering. Like the issue statement, it is based on the premise that although new GE crops are assessed by regulatory authorities prior to approval for commercial use, there is still a public debate on the safety GE crops.

Download the report

09

A Review of The Benefits GMOs Have Afforded Brazilians in the 20 Years Since Adoption

20 Years of GMOs: Environmental, Economic and Social Benefits in Brazil: CIB, Agroconsult

2018 marked the 20th anniversary of the introduction of GM crops in Brazil. The country is the second largest adopter of biotech crops globally on more than 50 million hectares of farmland and agriculture is one of the most dynamic industries within the country. To quantify the benefits of GM crops in the country, a conventional crop and a GM crop were compared, year by year, to assess the technical nuances of use of pesticides, the differences in production costs, and the financial results of one system verses the other.

Download the report

10

A Study Quantifying Economic and Social Benefits from Timely Regulation of Ag Biotech Products

The Impact of Delays in Chinese Approvals of Biotech Crops: Informa Agribusiness Consulting Group

The 2018 study quantifies the wide-reaching social and economic benefits both importing and exporting countries could realize if timely and functional regulatory systems were in place. Delays in the regulatory process—including delays in innovations reaching the marketplace – impede global initiatives to improve food and nutrition security, advance economic prosperity, and increase the adoption of environmentally sound practices.

Download the report

Literature review Shows Benefits of Tech to Smallholder Farmers

The Role of Technology in the Future of Smallholder Agriculture: CropLife Foundation

The role of technology to improve smallholder-based food production systems has been written about extensively. CropLife International worked with the CropLife Foundation to provide a literature review to better understand how modern agricultural technologies can improve smallholder livelihoods. The review found that of a variety of factors, risk was paramount in influencing the adoption of technology relating to irrigation, genetic resources, pest management, and conservation agriculture among others.

Download the report

You can also view our top 10 studies for 2017, 2016, and 2015.

Feature Section, Infographic, Latest News

CREEPY-CRAWLIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE

By: CropLife International

According to a recent study, as global temperatures go up, so will insect populations. These “creepy-crawlies” eat crops meant for human consumption and cause a host of other problems for farmers. Check out what could happen from more climate change:

With access to crop protection and plant biotechnology as part of an Integrated Pest Management strategy, farmers can beat the bugs.

Feature Section, Latest News, Video

PAUL TEMPLE ON PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY

 

By: CropLife International

“We’ve shifted away from generations that were focused on food, that’s not their primary focus. People today care about the environment.” Paul Temple, is a third generation beef and arable farmer in Yorkshire. Running a family farm, legacy is extremely important to Paul, and he is always on the lookout for ways to make his farm more sustainable.

In the following video Paul talks about how the grassland margins on his farm give bees a place to forage and have helped to bring other species back to the area.

In the EU, farmers must maintain a 2-meter margin alongside their hedges. In Paul’s case this left him with a grass margin around all his fields. This might seem like quite a lot of land to go unfarmed, but what Paul found was that these margins have been extremely beneficial for the local wildlife.

“If you leave these grass margins, you get a lot more small mammals there. Two or three years after these have been established then you’ll get owls and other small mammal predators,” he explained.

Paul joined a high-level environmental scheme that increases these margins up to 10m. More used to farming crops, Paul found this to be a slow learning curve. “The tricky bit is you get one cycle a year. We’re eight years into our environmental scheme so I’ve only got eight years or eight cycles of experience.”

However, over time experimenting with different flowering mixes within his margins, and learning when to cut and manage this land, has helped Paul to make these areas more effective: “we are now finding owls back in the area that we never had when I was a child.”

Paul also follows Integrated Pest Management practices on his farm. You can learn more about what he does on his farm in our Crop Protector video series.

Feature Section, Latest News

THE BEETLES PROTECTING JAKE’S CROP

By: CropLife International

We spoke with Jake Freestone, a Crop Protector and UK farmer about some of the ways he is maximizing biodiversity on his farm.

Why is biodiversity important on a farm?

Biodiversity underpins all of our food and ecosystems. The environment is so crucial to making food production run as smoothly as possible. Whether support that is helping bees to pollinate crops or helping to clean the water as it goes through the farming system, a biodiverse environment makes everything run smoothly.

Have you seen a species return to your farm because you are mindful about biodiversity?

We are finding more beetles and more earthworms in our soil. We started doing no-till in 2016, and within two years we started to get an increase in Rose Beetles and another beetle called a Devil’s Coachman. They are natural predators of slugs—one of our big problems here in the UK. By leaving plant residue, you promote a good habitat for the beetles.

Jake Freestone speaks about managing slugs

Also earthworms, we have fields with earthworm castings all over them and to me that is a really easy win for farmers. The more worms the merrier and if my earthworms are good in number, then I am confident that the things that we can’t measure or see with the naked eye are also in good health.

What about diversity within the crops themselves?

We try not to just keep biodiversity on the margins but integrate it into the actual cash crop we grow. For instance, in our oilseed rape, we grow vetches, buckwheat, and clover to act as companion crops within those fields. We think they can mask the emerging oilseed rape crops from flea beetle. They are leguminous and provide a degree of nitrogen while helping cover the field to reduce bird damage. They suppress weeds which saves on herbicides and gives us a net financial benefit of about $45 USD per hectare.

Can you tell me more about Linking Environment and Farming – the organization that promotes sustainable farming?

Some farming friends suggested it to me. They said LEAF is on the cutting edge of environmental sustainability, where they look to reduce the impact on ecology and biodiversity while still remaining focused on outputs.

LEAF has a helpful Integrated Farm Management handbook and they run a great event called Open Farm Sunday where as many farms as possible open their gates on the same day. We welcome the general public and our customers so they can see how we grow the food and look after the environment.

At a LEAF meeting the farmers are really positive people. We ask ourselves about the wider benefits to society and the environment from what we do on the farm and you always learn something when you go to one of those meetings.

What has been something that you have picked up on in one of those meetings that you have implemented in your farm?

We deepened and widened a stretch of ditch to create a silt trap and a little reed bed as well. Now we have reeds growing filtering the water and when you go down there, there are little birds, little wrens and threshes and all sorts of stuff making that their environment and their home now.

Can using pesticides help with biodiversity?

We have to be responsible and make sure to stick to the label. We need to have buffer strips around our fields and use the right product at the right time, with the right dose.

We used to use seed treatment to control cabbage stem flea beetle. Without that [now banned treatment] farmers now spray broad acre insecticide across the emerging crop to prevent damage. Unfortunately, there are huge losses from resistance and over the span of three days, the pest virtually wiped out my whole crop of oilseed rape in three fields. It was that quick and that invasive.