The introduction of intensive farming has increased productivity but has also led to crop standardisation and a dangerous loss of biodiversity. EU-funded research is looking at ways to reverse this process and ensure future food quality and sustainability.
Infectious animal diseases represent a serious threat to farm animals as well as to humans' public health. An EU-funded project is building a transnational network of bio-containment research facilities, industry partners and international organisations that allows for safe research on high-risk pathogens causing highly contagious animal diseases.
Promoting a better understanding of the bioeconomy and its impacts could pave the way to a more sustainable society. An EU-funded project engaged the public and various stakeholder groups in dialogue to raise awareness about its future potential.
An EU-funded project is using slime mould to produce accessible sensing devices with a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring and health - helping European industry become more competitive in the growing biosensor device market. The devices can also be used for citizen science applications.
EU-funded researchers are using mathematical models to improve water management in Africa. Their aim is to balance the water, energy and food needs of communities in a sustainable way while allowing for economic development.
With the growing use of synthetic nanoparticles in consumer and industrial products, EU-funded researchers are examining how they affect organisms including plants, worms and bivalves, laying the foundations for an integrated approach to environmental nano-safety.
Preventing parasites in poultry, cattle and other livestock is a major concern for Europe's farmers. As current treatments prove less effective or desirable, EU-funded scientists are working on new vaccines to keep animals healthy and safeguard our food supply.
Nature provides benefits worth billions of euros a year to EU agriculture - such as pest control by insect predators. An EU-funded project has improved knowledge of the habitats that foster these so-called ecological services, helping to support an increase in sustainable farming and food security.
Human welfare is closely linked to the health of animals and the environment. An EU-funded joint research programme has been created to align developments in medicine, veterinary science and consumer health protection to tackle food-borne health threats in a more integrated way across Europe.
Vast volumes of data from satellites in space, drones in the air and sensors on the ground will be harnessed by a pioneering EU-funded project that promises to revolutionise farming, land use, agricultural sustainability and food security.
