Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture integrates applied plant, animal and environmental research from across the School.

Our overarching strategy is to improve agricultural production systems, enhance agricultural sustainability and efficiency, while protecting the environment.

We have emphasis on understanding issues affecting food, fuel, land and water use, and how these determine farm business strategies, farm risk management, consumer behaviour and the economics of agrifood systems.

We are at the forefront of understanding the performance, effectiveness and risks in UK and EU agricultural systems, as we lead data collection and analysis of the Defra Farm Business Survey (FBS), and apply this expertise globally with active research projects in Europe, South East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South America.

Explore our research groups and centres

Agricultural and environmental systems analysis

Using modelling and survey approaches to improve our understanding of agri-environmental systems and to assess the effects of controllable and uncontrollable factors.

Agricultural and environmental systems analysis

Cereal crops

Understanding the biology of cereal crops to provide rational methods for crop improvement.

Cereal crops

Fruit and vegetable crops

Our research on fruit focuses on tomato as a model for understanding the development and ripening of fleshy fruits. In vegetables, our primary focus is on resource-use and edible quality of leafy Brassica crops.

Fruit and Vegetable Crops