Resilient Farming Futures (RFF)

Resilient Farming Futures (RFF) is a BBSRC funded Institute Strategic Programme Grant (2023-2028). Conjectures of ‘perfect storms’ and ‘ghastly futures’ are based largely on recent limited observations, narratives and simple indices of environmental degradation rather than comprehensive systems-based analysis. A robust scientific understanding of which abiotic and biotic stresses, individually and combined, are most likely to disrupt agricultural goods and services is lacking, meaning that systems adaptations for safeguarding the resilience of UK agriculture cannot be recommended with confidence. The Resilient Farming Futures ISP meets this challenge head-on and will combine primary and secondary data, in vivo and in silico experiments, and the development of data science and decision-making tools, to forearm the farming sector and additional stakeholders.