15 years: Agricultural specialist
It was said that food production could never keep up with human demand. For a while, we’ve managed to prove that wrong. But what have the effects of mechanisation and artificial fertilisers had on soil and nutrition? Join Oliver Knight as he guides us through these pressing issues.
It was said that food production could never keep up with human demand. For a while, we’ve managed to prove that wrong. But what have the effects of mechanisation and artificial fertilisers had on soil and nutrition? Join Oliver Knight as he guides us through these pressing issues.
11 mins 44 secs
The Agricultural Revolution ushered in an explosion of growth in food production. This started in the UK in the 18-19th centuries, which introduced new management techniques to increase production, along with the Haber-Bosch process, which developed a method for producing synthetic ammonia. But this has come at the cost of biodiversity, nutrition and soil health. Healthy soil is central to a sustainable and healthy food production system and also represents one of the largest opportunities related to carbon in farming.
Key learning objectives:
Learn how agricultural production has developed
Identify the impact of agricultural production on climate and biodiversity
Understand the importance of soil