Technology and innovation key to mitigating climate change

Diversifying

Looking at the specifics, options could include mitigating emissions through diversifying, such as combining vertical farming into traditional farm practices, or converting waste to valuable resources.

For example, taking waste coming out of agricultural waste streams and purifying the waste ‘so that it becomes clean again’, and turning it into upcycled, valued products.

Mr Halsey said: “Whether that is taking out phosphates and re-selling those chemicals on, or using it as feed for insect farming.

“One of the big solutions is about circular economy, and the way technologies help create that into other novel food streams.”

Tools

And talks around methane should not necessarily be about reduction, but rather methane capture and turning it into other valuable products, such as graphene.

Such solutions are ‘moving out of research and development’ and will soon hit farming, Mr Halsey said.

“That will be led by people who can take the risk and want to do it, for reasons other than just reducing cost, but because they think it is of strategic importance,” he added.

“What we are trying to do at Farm491 is to shorten that distance to farmers and enable them to use the technology faster, in a way that works for them and helps them.

“The point is, there are lots of different solutions out there in changing emissions which are more valuable than reducing them, and it will come down to what the aspirations for farmers are.

“It is about giving them the sweeter tools to help them meet what needs they want to achieve for the context.”