Research and development
Recent articlesORC’s research programme focuses on organic/agro-ecological approaches to food and farming in order to:
a) improve the productivity and sustainability of such approaches and to address key technical problems where current practice falls short of organic/agro-ecological principles
b) Evaluate, with a view to improvement, the wider impacts of such systems, in particular the delivery of ecosystem services ; pollution, resource use and biodiversity impacts; greenhouse gas emissions and potential for climate change mitigation; food security, food sovereignty and sustainability of food systems; as well as food quality, safety and human/animal health and wellbeing.
ORC believes, and has demonstrated, that organic agricultural research should be conducted within established and well-functioning organic systems, on a scale large enough to include the range of interactions inherent within diverse agro-ecosystems. Much of the research we carry out is field-based on commercial farms reflecting the importance we place on a participatory/ farming systems research approach.
The research programme is co-ordinated by Dr Bruce Pearce with support from our Principal Scientific Advisor Prof. Martin Wolfe, Crops Team Leader Dr. Thomas Döring, Socio-economic Team Leader Dr. Susanne Padel and other members of the research team.
Research areas
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Participatory networkPutting the producer at the heart of research, innovation and knowledge exchange. |
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Plant breedingIncreasing resilience in crops through breeding and assessment of pure lines, landraces, variety mixtures and populations. |
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Crop productionDeveloping systems and their components, including reduced tillage and cover crops, to make crop production more sustainable. |
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Eco-agroforestryIntegrating trees with agriculture to increase productivity, biodiversity and other mutual benefits. |
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Biodiversity and agro-ecologyUnderstanding and enhancing the contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem health to sustainable food production sytems. |
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LivestockDeveloping sustainable livestock systems with a focus on nutrition, health and welfare in a whole farm context. |
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Resource use and sustainabilityOptimising the costs, benefits and interactions of multi-functional systems to deliver sustainable resource use. |
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Socio-economics and policyAssessing the contribution of specialist markets, certification and policies to supporting financial, economic and sustainability. |
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Food quality and healthUnderstanding the concepts of health in systems and organisms and how production methods can influence health and product quality. |
Research events
22 February 2012 1st Solibam Stakeholder Congress: Rome event to debate role of diversity in low-input and organic systems...Recent articles
Latest GHG Platform newsletter: Greenhouse gas inventory update More...SOLIBAM 2nd newsletter: Organic plant breeding news More...
CSA survival report published: Key factors for CSA success in Wales More...
Third SOLID newsletter: News on the latest dairy research More...
Hedgerow survey volunteers needed: Enthusiasm, boots and natural history knowledge required! More...
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