With centuries of rich agricultural heritage and productive landscapes, from rugged moorlands to miles of diverse coastline, living in the South West often helps me to forget that the impacts of climate change are now being felt on a daily basis. But widespread droughts, floods and geopolitical conflict have left many parts of the world severely impacted by food shortages and mass migration.
The UK, of course, is not immune to such disruptions. Recent flooding across the country has delayed planting and impacted harvests, leading to supply shortages and higher prices – to such an extent that addressing food security challenges is an area of priority for the Government.
Responsible land management practices have helped to mitigate some of these impacts. For example, well-maintained grasslands and a focus on pastoral agriculture have made the South West more resilient to climate change than other parts of the UK. Because of this, the region will play a pivotal role, both locally and nationally.
Fostering sustainable practices through land stewardship
The South West is currently responsible for producing a significant proportion of the UK’s food, including one-third of England’s dairy, 25% of its beef, and 15% of its lamb and mutton. With over 55,000 people working across 1.25 million hectares of farmland, the region plays a critical role in the country’s food production network. It's a big industry, over-producing for its size relative to the rest of the UK, and it's doing an excellent job of that.
With a vast network of farmers, agri-business and research institutions, collaborating together alongside a rapidly growing regional agri-tech sector, the South West offers a sustainable model for food production across the UK.
A unique strength is its tradition of small-scale farming:
The people here are emotionally and morally invested in their land, perhaps to a greater extent than in larger productive systems. They view the land, and the sea, as a resource to be cared for, and not just as a means for profit. And that’s said by a boy who grew up in Iowa!
This land-led approach fosters practices that prioritise environmental health and long-term productivity, helping to make the South West a real leader in sustainable agriculture. The region also provides opportunities for growing high-value crops using newer methods like controlled environment horticulture. The technology developed can also be applied to more essential crops, contributing to overall resilience.
Supporting a system of localised production, with better-cared-for environments, will ultimately create a more secure and environmentally friendly food system that is resistant to the effects of climate change. We’re learning more about this every day, but that’s something that we absolutely need to look at, going forward – how do we take our learning and innovation and use that to improve resilience across the country, under increasing pressure?
Learning from a ‘living laboratory’
Knowing what makes ‘good’ soil good is vital. In the South West, farmers are at the forefront of agricultural innovation, combining their deep knowledge of the land with advances in agri-tech. Supported by a booming agri-tech sector of over 200 small- and medium-sized businesses, and pioneering research institutions, like the University of Plymouth, there's huge opportunity in the region for technology to assist farmers and fishers in optimising productive systems, reducing our carbon footprint and minimising impact on the environment. Ultimately that’s what we're after – figuring out how to feed everybody without ruining the environment at the same time.
To get to that point we must consider all food production in the context of the ecosystem in which it takes place, employing a systems-thinking approach to view agriculture not just through a biological and ecological lens, but also from a community, economic and social structure sense.
Collaboration between farmers, researchers and agri-businesses has allowed us to create a ‘living laboratory’ where agricultural research is tailored to the real-world challenges farmers face, ensuring new technologies and practices are both practical and effective. This co-creation approach bridges the gap between academic research and farm-level application.
How university research is co-creating sustainable solutions
At Plymouth, we are now driving agricultural research and innovation through our new Centre of Research excellence in Intelligent and Sustainable Productive Systems (CRISPS). Programmes in animal health and welfare, soil science, fisheries and aquaculture, and controlled environment agriculture, will advance sustainable farming practices across the whole region. CRISPS gives us the opportunity to build on existing expertise and expand in areas such as animal health and welfare, in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. Leveraging expertise in field-based sensors and novel technology, from autonomous robotic platforms and imaging drones to animal-mounted sensors and genetic soil sampling, we are providing actionable environmental data on site.
As climate change and geopolitical factors continue to threaten food supply chains, I’m in no doubt that the innovations and agricultural heritage of the South West will be key to underpinning the long-term stability of the UK’s food production system.
