A PolicyLab event including Professor David Baulcombe FRS, Professor Janet Dwyer, Dr Les Firbank, Martin Nesbit (Defra) and Martin Haworth (NFU).
Sustainable intensification is the buzzword of the moment for UK and EU farming policy. But in light of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms due later this year, does sustainable intensification represent an impossible paradox? Or does it really represent a viable future for Europe's farming industry? The panel broadly addressed the following questions: What is sustainable intensification? What is required from the CAP reform to make sustainable intensification economically viable? Do environmental services and biodiversity have a place in farming policy? Does it represent an attractive source of income and lifestyle choice for farmers? Will it work in the UK? Can sustainable intensification work within the Common Agricultural Policy?
We have also produced a Storify summary of the live twitter feed from the evening. There are several sustainable intensification related blog posts on In Verba, including a summary of the event by the chair Dr Matt Reed.