Food and Drink is a hugely important sector for Scotland and the UK economy, generating a turnover of £14.4 billion and £5.3 billion of GVA (gross value added) for the Scottish economy in 2014 alone. This sector not only has an impact on Scotland’s economy but food production can also has a significant influence on our environment, health and society and these are all areas that SEFARI research aims to a make a difference.
You may be wondering what we can do to help? Well, at the Centre for Sustainable Cropping (CSC) near Dundee, we’re aiming to develop a cropping system that can produce high quality food, whilst still maintaining a healthy environment. This means using what we understand about ecology to work with the environment to improve the health and physical structure of the soil, minimise the losses of nutrients and chemicals from cultivated fields, and support a rich variety of farmland wildlife.
Agriculture faces many challenges, including a warming climate, more frequent occurrence of extreme climate events and increased incidence and severity of crop diseases. Control of plant diseases with major resistance genes has not always proven durable and application of crop protection chemicals is becoming problematic with the development of pathogen insensitivity to the chemicals, as well as increased regulation.
Leaf rust caused by Puccinia hordei is an important fungal disease on barley.
The James Hutton Institute
Invergowrie
Dundee DD2 5DA
Scotland UK
Carla Barlagne is a researcher in agricultural and rural economics working in the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences (SEGS) research group at the James Hutton Institute.
She has a background in agronomy, agricultural economics and behavioural economics. Prior to joining The James Hutton Institute she has received her PhD from The University of the French West Indies and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and carried a one-year postdoc at INRA (Guadeloupe, French West Indies/Paris, France).
The James Hutton Institute
Craigiebuckler
Aberdeen AB15 8QH
Scotland UK
Ingo's research aims to identify and clone more durable resistances towards major potato pathogen.
Current projects include:
The James Hutton Institute
Invergowrie
Dundee DD2 5DA
Scotland UK
My research interests are in plant product quality especially in food applications. I have applied various analytical techniques, including metabolomics, to model how agronomy, climate, genotype or processing influences plant biochemistry and final product quality. I have a particular interest in determining how the levels of health beneficial components are genetically controlled in soft fruits. I have focused on polyphenols and their effects on human health.
Grasslands, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gases
What are the benefits of grasslands?
Globally, grasslands represent 70% of the agricultural land area. In Scotland the figure is even higher (approximately 80%), due to the contribution from rough grazing on land less favourable for agriculture (LFA).
Mark leads studies in molecular physiology in potato at the James Hutton Institute. His main research has been on understanding the molecular basis of quality and development trains in potato tubers. For SEFARI, Mark is Work Package Coordinator for Crop and grassland production and disease control alongside Alison Lees. His work for SEFARI focuses on genetic diversity and improvement of crops.