Agriculture and Environment
Our researchers are looking for ways to increase farming productivity in a changing environment.
At the same time we need to find more efficient ways to use water and energy, and reduce the reliance on nitrogen-based fertilisers.
This is in response to the need to feed a growing population, but also to reduce our environmental impact. An increasing demand for food means a rising demand for water and energy for agriculture.
This will lead to climate change reducing water supply in many of the world’s major agricultural regions, while manufacturing fertilisers for food production contributes to an unacceptable increase in CO2 emissions.
“It is great to see Leeds adopting an interdisciplinary approach to address the challenge faced by agriculture of needing more sustainable and productive agricultural systems.”
Our research focus
Taking a multi-disciplinary and integrative approach, our research tackles the biggest challenges in sustainable food production. Our broad expertise covers all aspects of food and farming systems, from fundamental crop, soil and animal science through to robotics and machine learning, our research spans the following key areas:
- Soil, water and crop sensors
- Big data and decision-making
- Imaging and robots
- Precision nutrition
- Smart farm
Our projects
We're working to enhance soil fertility in China. The research aims to meet the country's increasing food production needs. It is led by Professor Steve Banwart in partnership with N8 Agrifood. The programme is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China.
PigSustain includes an automated and continuous monitoring system to assess the health and welfare of pigs. It will be trialled at the University of Leeds farm. The £2.1m project draws on a multi-systems approach to predict the future resilience of the UK pig industry.
Smart Agri-Systems helps industry navigate the complex future challenges for sustainable development of global food production. It does this through providing innovative, multi-discipline, systems-based solutions.
The EU funded BEST MAP (Behavioural, Ecological and Socio-economic Tools for Modelling Agricultural Policy) project is developing a new modelling framework to improve the impact assessment of policy on natural, social and cultural assets in rural areas, taking into account the complexity of decisions made by farmers, to transform future agricultural policy design and monitoring, promoting a sustainable future for the agriculture sector.
Our collaborations
On the ACRES programme, we are working with Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Kulima Integrated Development Solutions, a consultancy organisation dedicated to preparing the way for securing climate-resilient sustainable development in Africa.
Our leading researchers
Professor Stefan Kepinski is the Director of the Centre for Plant Sciences and Associate Director for Agriculture and Environment. His research is focused on the regulation of plant architecture and root function, particularly in the context of crop improvement for sustainable agriculture.
Professor Lisa Collins is Professor in Animal Sciences in our School of Biology. She is researching the use of epidemiological methods and statistical approaches to improving animal welfare. She is leading the £2.1m PigSustain project.
Professor Steve Banwart is Leeds’ Leadership Chair in Soil/Water/Agriculture research. He leads multidisciplinary research into Earth’s critical zone – the area from the tops of trees to the bottom of the groundwater.
Contact us
For enquiries about Agriculture and Environment, please email the Global Food and Environment Institute via globalfood@leeds.ac.uk.