Outlook on Agriculture

The European Research Area (ERA) initiative is particularly relevant to agriculture and to the issues of science and governance. European policy development for agriculture increasingly focuses on multifunctionality as its target and its organizing principle. At all levels — regional, national, European and international — Europe will need creative and constructive policy thinking based on evidence from both social and natural sciences, integrated across the various research disciplines. This will provide the internal coherence and consistency that will give Europe the important voice it warrants in international negotiations. This paper notes some of the challenges and opportunities faced by European agriculture, particularly in coping with the major issues of enlargement of the EU, reform of the CAP and WTO negotiations on trade liberalization for agricultural products. The concept of multifunctionality, with its close links to sustainable development, will be an important strand in decision making on all these issues. However, Europe's agricultural system as a whole needs to be not just sustainable, but thriving on all levels if we are to achieve genuine multifunctionality. This will require a more constructive approach to technological innovation than is currently the case.

The European Research Area (ERA) provides a unique framework for organizing and structuring agricultural genomics and post-genomics research in Europe. The principal features of this novel trend in biological research are high technological sophistication and multidisciplinarity. The successful development of this research activity requires a high degree of focus as regards the research effort and international cooperation and coordination, which can only be achieved by combining national competencies through the development of high-throughput facilities and laboratories, bioinformatics infrastructure and a network of centres of excellence throughout Europe.

The relationship between agriculture and the environment is a subject of great public interest. It involves politicians, consumers, industry and farmers. Furthermore, it is a subject of specific European interest in relation to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), CAP reform and the multifunctionality of agriculture. This makes agriculture and environment highly relevant subjects to discuss in relation to future joint European research. Research should aim at greater sustainability of agriculture, involving natural, economic and social sciences in an interdisciplinary approach. In this context, the further development of agri-environmental indicators is considered a valuable tool. Seven specific priority areas for joint European research, possibly by means of centres of excellence, are proposed.

The concept of a common ‘Area’ for agricultural and food research among European nations is a topic that is both challenging and timely. The European Commission should be applauded for addressing the many complex issues associated with this concept as it strives to develop science and technology programmes, policies and investment strategies for the twenty-first century. The USA faces, in varying degrees, the same social, economic and technological forces that confront Europe. Political and funding changes, the role of farmers, and the direction and rising costs of agricultural research are common to both. Like the USA, Europe has a large number of research institutions spread across a large geographic area, many of which may be addressing similar research objectives. With these similarities in mind, the experiences, organizational structures and programme coordination mechanisms used by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) might serve as a model for the European Commission's future strategies. As a minimum, the Commission could benefit from adopting three essential elements of ARS's success: a common programme framework, a centralized facilitating or coordinating body, and a planning partnership between both scientists and stakeholders.

The Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems project (SAFS) was established in 1988 to study the transition from conventional to low-input and organic crop production practices. The project includes four-year crop rotations under conventional (conv-4), low-input, and organic management and a conventionally managed, two-year rotation (conv-2). Positive effects on soil quality resulting from low-input and organic management include increased soil organic matter, a reduction in soil-borne diseases, increased pools of P and K, higher microbial biomass and activity, an increase in mobile humic acids and increased water infiltration rates and soil water-holding capacity. Pesticide use in the low-input cropping system is about 25% of that used in the conventional systems. The most profitable farming system continues to be the conv-2 system due to the greater frequency of tomato in that rotation. Among the four-year rotations, the organic system, in which the produce commands premium prices, is the most profitable, although least profitable if premium prices are not applied. Information generated from SAFS research has been disseminated via videotape, workshops, annual field days, field tours, educational materials, peer-reviewed articles and an Internet homepage. Future challenges for the SAFS project include development of reduced-tillage and cover crop management strategies to optimize N availability following cash crops, weed management in organic and low-input systems, improvement of water-use efficiency in alternative systems and sequestration of C in the soil.

Agricultural intensification of grassland has led to serious imbalances between inputs of nutrients (in purchased fertilizers, feeds and atmospheric deposition) and outputs (mainly milk and meat). Excess nutrients are lost into the wider environment with consequences for soil, water and atmospheric quality. This paper examines the environmental impacts of nitrogen and phosphorus use by the grassland-based agricultural industry of Northern Ireland. Results are presented from a recently completed experimental programme, which was undertaken to define the losses associated with nitrogen inputs to grazed grassland. Also examined is the contention that P use in grassland agriculture is now the major cause of the P enrichment of Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles. A combination of strategies involving fertilizer management, manure management and dietary manipulation can have a significant impact on the flow and excesses of N and P in grassland systems. However, the rate at which improved management strategies will be introduced in practice depends on regulatory controls, the applicability of new techniques and the financial implications.

Farmer-participatory research has become almost commonplace in many developing countries, but despite the apparent benefits of such a research approach, it has not been widely adopted in the UK or elsewhere in the developed world. This article briefly discusses the differences between participatory research and traditional research philosophies, and then goes on to explore whether or not participatory methods could be useful in the UK situation. It is concluded that no scientific or technical reasons appear to invalidate the use of participatory methods in the UK, and indeed some good examples of participatory research in the area of cooperative livestock breeding do exist. The main barriers to adoption are probably related to the functioning of existing institutions, the difficulty in obtaining funding for such research, and the prevalent attitudes of agricultural researchers (and their evaluators). In the short term, participatory research could be utilized in peripheral rural communities, funded by rural development money, or in other regions funded by agribusiness.