A “new crops” workshop is to be held in Warwick later this month to help farming move away from being dependent on the success of only a few crops or over-reliant on protein imports for animal feed.
Organised by the University of Warwick and the crop species promotional charity, Crop-Innovations, the workshop will be held on November 19 & 20 to address agriculture’s current “over-reliance on a small number of crop species”.
Designed to enable researchers, agronomists, farmers and industry representatives to explore the possibility of additional crops being introduced into UK-based farming, the two-day event is being run by organiser Dr Charlotte Allender.
“Our over-reliance on a small number of crop species limits our ability to respond to the challenge of supplying more food in a changing climate,” she said, adding that in addition to assessing this problem, the workshop will explore how using a wider range of crop species could create more resilient growing systems, allowing farmers to be less dependent on just a few crops or the need for substandial protein imports.
“We are bringing relevant stakeholders together to discuss the options of crop species, investigate the barriers to their further usage and identify action points. We will also discuss the creation of a consortium for the research and development of novel crops.”