Collaborative research aims to restore biodiversity and improve agronomic systems

Bayer, the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich join forces to develop solutions to prevent biodiversity losses on rural properties

Bayer, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) announce the development of a collaborative study aimed at helping agriculture develop and implement new solutions to reduce impacts on biodiversity. This is the first global partnership focusing on large-scale crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans.

The consortium led by IFPRI and ETH also has a series of research partners in four focus countries: Iowa State University (USA), University of São Paulo - USP (Brazil), INRA (France) and ZALF (Germany), in addition to having scientific areas at the University of Maryland and University of Queensland. The collaborative environment will intensify connections and direct research, insights and experiences in the field of biodiversity and agriculture.

Biodiversity loss has grown alarmingly in recent decades. In agriculture, this is mainly attributed to changes in land use, deforestation, climate change, pollution and some crop management practices. The challenge is to find ways to safely feed a growing population, preserving natural resources and reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment.

One way to face this loss is to focus on production systems that preserve diversity, contributing to environmental conservation in agricultural areas. To achieve this, we need to rethink the way farmers grow certain crops in order to restore biodiversity on farms. This can be done by adopting technologies and developing new business models that value sustainable agronomic practices.

"Agriculture occupies 40% of the world's land surface and is therefore in a privileged position to play an important role in restoring much of the lost biodiversity," says Jaboury Ghazoul, Professor of Ecosystem Management at ETH Zurich. "We, scientists, need to work in collaboration with rural producers, regulatory bodies and industries in the sector to develop new approaches that provide environmental benefits, maintaining the current quality of food produced and viable incomes for agricultural communities."

Sustainable innovations and new business models can help rural producers find this balance. It is in this sense that Bayer, IFPRI and ETH are committed to developing relevant solutions that will enable agricultural operations connected to biodiversity ecosystems.

In the coming months, the first phase of the partnership will begin, which will involve farmers. The intention is to understand the current challenges and risks they face in order to work on solutions and business models that address these needs. In general, the work will consist of six steps:

• Ongoing farmer involvement to test and validate the ability to implement scientific findings;
• Development of a framework to assess how agricultural practices affect environmental sustainability, as well as the costs and constraints of agricultural practices that support biodiversity;
• Analysis of the benefits and trade-offs of proposed solutions from conservation, agronomic and farmer acceptability perspectives;
• Verify the use of technical innovations as enablers of habitat conservation measures;
• Assessment of spatial distributions and patterns of agricultural production to identify the possibility of simplified farming systems;
• Creation of tools accessible to farmers, regulatory bodies and other relevant entities in the sector.

"Biodiversity is fundamental to ecosystems that impact our physical, mental, spiritual health and quality of life, believes Wei Zhang, Senior Researcher at IFPRI. "Supporting these initiatives and producing healthy food in sufficient quantity to feed the growing global population requires this kind of collaborative approach.”

According to Sara Boettiger, leader of Public Affairs, Science & Sustainability at Bayer's Crop Science division, "producers can lead agriculture as a biodiversity-friendly sector, contributing collaboratively through innovation, enabling public policies and adopting of business models that generate returns through the adoption of sustainable environmental practices." The leader concludes: "We are excited to contribute to this partnership and help establish the foundations for new thinking that connects agriculture and biodiversity, always from a scientific approach." Bayer is the main financier of the initiative.