A series of projects to investigate ways to increase farm productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts (sustainable intensification) will receive £4.5 million from Defra.
Three interlinked research projects will establish the Sustainable Intensification Research Platform (SIP).
The University of Exeter’s Centre for Rural Policy Research and BBSRC Rothamsted Research will lead a consortium of 22 organisations to deliver one of the SIP projects.
The £2M project will develop ways to understand the actions that are needed to ensure that landscapes can, at the same time, deliver profitable farming and food production alongside a wide range of environmental benefits such as biodiversity, alleviating flood risk and carbon storage.