Agriculture and forestry

Many fish species such as salmon and trout are now bred in aquaculture facilities to meet the increasing demand. As a rule, these fish farms are located near the coast, where breeding is impaired by shipping, tourism or buildings.

Soil is a precious and scarce resource. In Europe alone, 80 % of the land area is used for forestry, agriculture, industry and settlements.

In the wake of increasingly frequent periods of heat and drought, research is being carried out to make crop plants more resilient and to better understand their metabolic processes.

Plastics are not only polluting the water and land. The tiny nano- and microplastic particles (NMP) are also increasingly becoming a threat to ecosystems.

The world's population is expected to grow to around 9.7 billion people by 2050, and feeding them will be a global challenge. Research has long been underway to make staple foods such as rice more productive and also more nutritious in terms of their ingredients.

In 2022, Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger signed an agreement to strengthen joint bioeconomy research during her visit to the Australian state of Queensland. With the ‘Joint Declaration of Intent’, Germany and Australia want to expand their long-standing research cooperation.

Wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world and is dependent on a supply of nitrogen. In agriculture, nitrogen is therefore applied in the form of fertiliser to promote plant growth and achieve good yields. However, the right amount is important. Nitrogen that the plant cannot process ends up in the environment and pollutes ecosystems. But how can the supply of wheat be secured without further harming the environment?

Nowadays, potatoes, maize and other crops are planted in extensive fields so that agricultural machinery can work the land - even in locations where crops do not have optimal growing conditions. In such cases, fertilisers and pesticides are usually used to compensate for the disadvantage and achieve good yields. However, this common cultivation method is increasingly reaching its limits. An alternative could be the concept of spot farming.