Increase Diversification
Diversification aims to develop alternative land uses and rural businesses that offer viable economic returns that have lower emissions than traditional ruminant-based agricultural systems. Opportunities include organic farming, which is a lower input and intensity system with the potential for increased product prices with potential across all sectors of agriculture. Alternative non-ruminant enterprises such as, horticulture which can generate high revenues from a relatively small land base, or tillage and forestry which have lower revenues per unit area but the potential to utilise a larger land base. There are also a number of alternative markets that could be exploited by a range of existing farm enterprises such as bio-methane or industrial feedstock production.
Priorities
- Increasing the role of organic farming systems - 74,000 to 350,000 ha
- Increasing bio-methane production by anaerobic digestion of slurry and grass
- Increasing the annual rate of afforestation and the adaptation of our forest systems to future climate scenarios
- Circular bioeconomy – investigate a range of technologies to increase circularity within agricultural systems, include manure processing, biosolids, biorefinning, biomethane, integrated farming systems, alternative crops.
- Bioenergy and energy diversification at farm level.
Immediate actions
- Increased activity in organic farming
- Horticulture and forestry as well as anaerobic digestion for bio-methane production
Go to the following sections of our website for further information on Organics , Horticulture , Forestry
Current Research Projects
Current Climate Centre research projects focusing on Increasing Diversification