University of Exeter GCRF Global Research Translation Award: Sustainable Solutions to Food Security Challenges

Exeter's GRTA will co-design sustainable GCRF Food Security solutions that turn DAC country Food Security challenges into social and economic development opportunities. Since the launch of the GCRF, Exeter has established an interdisciplinary GCRF Food Security Portfolio that directly addresses ecosystem modification, nutrition, climate change, and destructive economies. Via strategic and equitable partnerships, we aim to deliver sustainable, challenge-led impact.

Exeter's GRTA is structured to deliver scalable solutions rapidly within the first six months, and across the lifetime of the award. Via competitive selection, we have pre-identified a portfolio of projects to be delivered through larger scale Strategic Priority and early stage Flexible Scaling Awards. Learning gained via delivery of these awards will shape a GRTA innovation and commercialisation model to be replicated across other thematic strands of Exeter's ODA portfolio. Strategic Priority Projects include:

1) Diversifying tree based grazing systems to create smallholder price premium opportunities for milk production in the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation. PI: Prof Toby Pennington.

Soils in the Amazon and many other parts of Latin America are often nutrient-poor and unsuited to long-term agricultural use. Land converted to agriculture from natural vegetation tends to remain productive for only a few years, necessitating continual advance of the agricultural frontier; leading to deforestation, and food insecurity and poverty. Agroforestry (AFS) and silvopastoral (SPS) systems incorporate trees into crop and livestock systems and can dramatically impact on the maintenance and restoration of long-term productivity in degraded and abandoned agricultural landscapes. They are well suited to use by poor rural smallholders and provide major benefits to livelihoods and food security, as well as to local economies.

Inga is a diverse genus of legume trees, found across tropical Latin America. These fast-growing trees capture atmospheric nitrogen and fertilise the soil around them. They can be grown in poor, degraded soils, out-competing weeds and invasive species. They are especially promising in Amazonian Brazil, where their use in SPS systems offers smallholders a price premium of up to 250% on milk.

Our project will solve the issue of availability of Inga seed, which cannot be stored, by planting community seed orchards as a basis for scaling up AFS and SPS systems across Mato Grosso State, Brazil. In addition it will develop 20 family-farm, Inga-based SPS systems as demonstration projects to provide the foundation to scale this approach regionally.

2) Removal and industrial conversion of Mexico's problematic seaweed bloom biomass into high quality, low cost sustainable agricultural fertiliser products. PI: Dr Mike Allen.

Mexico's Caribbean coast is under constant bombardment by invasive seaweed. Last year, millions of tonnes hit the Mexican Caribbean coastline. Currently, a record-breaking 550km long mass of rotting Sargassum biomass heads the same way. The impacts of this crisis are complex; seaweed damages and degrades coral reef and marine ecosystems. The impact on tourism ($23B annual market and responsible for 8.7% of Mexican GDP) is conservatively estimated to be a 30% decrease in affected regions. This is becoming the new normal.

This project aims to develop a novel hydrothermal processing technique that can utilise and convert this bountiful resource into a next generation agricultural fertiliser product. We aim to market test at least one fertiliser product within 18 months, delivered via a joint venture with Mexican partners with global reach. We anticipate fertiliser products will be highly competitive and deliver high quality crops. This therefore presents promising potential to strengthen Mexican and Latin American food security through reduced costs and higher incomes for farmers, and more nutritious food for consumers.

University of Exeter's GRTA primary aim is to maximise opportunities for its GCRF Food Security Portfolio to co-develop and deliver sustainable social and economic development solutions at scale across DAC country terrestrial and marine environments. Exeter's GRTA impact will be delivered primarily via the following pre-identified, co-designed Strategic Priority Awards:

1) Diversifying tree based grazing systems to create smallholder price premium opportunities for milk production in the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation:

The principal short to medium-term impact of this project will be establishment of a framework necessary for the development of systems delivering more sustainable and productive agricultural landscapes in the humid Neotropics. This will be achieved through enhanced agroforest (AFS) and silvopastoral systems (SPS) for milk and livestock production. The project will leave a lasting legacy including: (i) increased awareness, knowledge and uptake among scientists, AFS/SPS practitioners (NGOs and smallholders), and local and national rural, environmental, and agricultural policy-makers in Latin America of the potential of Inga-based AFS and SPS; (ii) a solution to the inability to store Inga seed via availability from community seed orchards, allowing regional scale-up of Inga based AFS and SPS; and, (iii) development of community-developed SPS systems based upon Inga that can act of demonstration projects for the Mato Grosso region.

In the longer term, the ultimate beneficiaries of our work will be rural communities in lower-middle income countries in Latin America. Via the resilient AFS and SPS systems, in times of climatic change and population growth, rural communities can benefit from reduced poverty, improved food security, and reduced pressure on natural vegetation and biodiversity. The outcomes from the project will therefore directly support Brazil in delivery of its commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

2) Removal and industrial conversion of Mexico's problematic seaweed bloom biomass into high quality, low cost sustainable agricultural fertiliser products.

The principal short to medium-term impact of this project will be identification and exploitation of the biochemical engineering conditions, infrastructure and investment required to convert problematic seaweed biomass into a sustainable source of agricultural fertiliser at an industrial scale. The project will provide the Mexican and Caribbean governments with a viable option positively manage a pollutant that decimates the tourist industry and hinders commercial coastal activities. The project will identify, characterise and assess new, sustainably produced, fertiliser products for use in the local and export markets; improving local agricultural productivities.

In the longer term, the ultimate beneficiaries of our work will be both the coastal and rural communities in lower-middle income countries in Latin America. The former primarily from increased tourist activities, a reduction in poverty and improved health & environment as a result of industrialised seaweed removal; the latter from improved food security and a reduction in poverty as a result of improved fertiliser products and availability.

Institutionally, the GRTA will enable Exeter to invest in long-term, strategic and equitable partnership development. We will draw on this experience to maximise opportunities for positive economic and social development impact from across our ODA portfolio. In parallel, building on learning gained from delivery of UKRI and ODA innovation and knowledge exchange funds and HEIF allocations, delivery of this award will inform development of a GRTA innovation and commercialisation model that can be replicated across other thematic strands of our ODA portfolio.