A Curtin University study has revealed a new method of capturing DNA could provide farmers with a valuable tool for boosting crop production — while also benefiting the environment.

 

Researchers from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences used an emerging scientific method known as ‘eDNA metabarcoding’, to track which insects interacted with avocado flowers at two orchards in Western Australia.

The paper pushes back against pessimism that agriculture cannot play an effective role in climate change mitigation and adaptation because of its fragmented nature. Structures and incentives within AVCs can effectively empower farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices more widely.

In 2023, the United Nations climate conference (COP28) officially recognized the importance of agriculture in influencing and mitigating climate change. In a Policy Forum, Johan Swinnen and colleagues offer an approach to overcome challenges related to improving climate-sensitive farming practices across the globe. They discuss the importance of working with Agricultural Value Chains (AVC) by incentivizing small businesses who play an important role in the support of small- and medium-sized farms. This would involve both upstream enterprises related to seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and insurance, for example, and downstream enterprises like those related to distribution, storage, and transportation. Most agricultural production occurs within small- to medium-sized farms – a fragmented farm sector – leading to pessimism about the possibility to enact change. But the authors counter this pessimism, citing decades of evidence of AVC companies having employed their tools – such as resource provision, training, and loans – to encourage farmers to be more “climate smart.” Targeting these institutional relationships with farmers can be a positive force for needed policy transformation, say the authors.