Agriculture sciences

Peatlands are huge carbon reservoirs and a hotspot of biodiversity. However, many moors in Germany have been drained in recent decades. Due to their importance for climate and species protection, the German government has put the renaturation and protection of wetlands on the political agenda with the National Moorland Protection Strategy 2022. This also requires new utilization concepts so that farmers can cultivate the renaturalized areas in a climate-friendly and profitable way. This is where the I-Robi project comes in.

In light of a growing population and dwindling resources due to climate change, alternative protein sources for the production of new foods are becoming increasingly important. Their range is broad: legumes, algae, fungi and insects as well as proteins obtained through cell-based or fermentative processes are suitable as raw material sources for a healthy, environmentally conscious and sustainable diet. The development of innovative foods based on alternative proteins has also become attractive to investors.

Water is a precious commodity and often causes conflicts of use. Water shortages are already occurring in some regions of Germany due to heat and drought. According to experts, agriculture alone accounts for 70% of global water consumption as the main food producer and is therefore particularly reliant on cultivation methods that ensure food security in the future with little water. As part of the “HypoWave+” project, partners from research and industry have developed a particularly water-efficient method for hydroponic vegetable cultivation in recent years.

Legumes such as peas and soy are not only valuable sources of protein for the production of food and animal feed. They are also important helpers in making agriculture more sustainable. Their ability to bind nitrogen from the air via the roots with the help of bacteria makes legumes a natural soil conditioner. However, the cultivation of such protein crops is still a niche in Germany and the EU. This is set to change.

Wheat is one of the most important food crops and, after maize, provides the world's largest harvest yields. Many foods, from bread and pizza to beer, are made from this grain. However, extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods repeatedly cause crop losses – including wheat. Farmers are already trying to supply food crops with important nutrients such as nitrogen through fertilization and to secure wheat yields.

Away from monocultures, pesticides and heavy agricultural machinery, permaculture established itself worldwide in the 1970s as a near-natural farming concept as a counterpart to conventional agriculture. In Germany, this organic farming model has also been practised by some farmers for decades. On permaculture areas, for example, fields are supplemented with trees and shrubs. Mineral fertilisers and pesticides are not used and the keeping of livestock is integrated into the cultivation of crops.

Alongside water, nitrogen as a fertiliser is a key factor in determining plant yields and therefore people's food security. However, nitrogen consumption in agriculture is very unevenly distributed worldwide: Rich countries tend to use too much nitrogen fertiliser, which pollutes water bodies and reduces biodiversity. In the Global South, on the other hand, there is a lack of nitrogen for sufficient harvests. The imbalance in global nitrogen distribution was the focus of an international study involving the University of Göttingen.