Connecting land and people

Expertise from across society are needed to find solutions the global issues that society is facing today – of sustaining life in the face of climate stress, natural resource depletion and environmental degradation.

Our work involves collaborating with people and organisations from academia, land management, policy and industry to identify innovations in knowledge, practice, infrastructure and regulation. We are working together to find mechanisms to catalyse change in current production systems, markets and governance and overcome social, technical and economic “lock-ins”.

This interdisciplinary work is possible due to the breadth of expertise across our five science departments, our institute farms and our networks of contacts within agri-food systems, the natural environment and civil society. Ranging from local community projects to national or global initiatives, our work includes trialling sustainable land management practices with crofters and farmers, gathering evidence to inform agri-environmental policy, developing new technologies and methods for crop improvement or environmental protection and creating novel products with agri-food industries.

Theme contact

Alison Karley
Dr Alison Karley
Agroecologist

We deliver technical and social innovations that support sustainable and resilient communities.

Working together to find mechanisms to catalyse change in current production systems, markets and governance and overcome social, technical and economic “lock-ins”.

Projects

Global community food for planetary health (Global CFaH)
Improving household health and food security by promoting agroecological community-based food production.
SEAMS – Sustainability in Education and Agriculture using Mixtures
Developing crop species mixtures as a sustainable crop production system for Scotland and as a resource for knowledge exchange.
The Quickgro Potato Project
Producing potato varieties that are heat-tolerant, early maturing, resistant to late blight, viral diseases and high yielding.

Resources

Pick-a-Mix
An online tool where the database of intercrop trials can be explored in tabular, map or graphical formats. Users can focus on specific crop mixture combinations or types of farm management to look at the yield performance of mixtures relative to monocrops.
Crop mixtures – harnessing biodiversity for sustainable farming
Produced in partnership with RHET and Buglife, this sustainability and crop mixtures learning resource offers the chance to find out more about growing crop mixtures and undertake citizen science.
Collaborate with us >
We welcome new connections to help develop and implement innovations supporting sustainability and resilience in the management of agri-food systems and the natural environment.
Join us at Arable Scotland >
This annual event brings together the key players in arable production, from farmers to distillers and exporters to discuss industry issues and demonstrate innovative and sustainable farming.