Dossier

Develop environmentally friendly crop production systems

Thomas de Witte | 27.04.2023

BW Institute of Farm Economics

The direction is clear: less pesticides and nutrient surpluses, more biodiversity and climate protection, and all with as little yield loss as possible. The Thünen Institute is working on how this can be achieved.

Nahaufnahme von den Wurzeln von Erbsenpflanzen — Roots of pea plants

Many environmental issues are associated with current crop production systems, which is why current policy strategies provide a clear direction: Less pesticides and nutrient surpluses, more biodiversity and climate protection, and all without yield losses if possible. To be able to achieve these goals, the Thünen Institute is working on ways to turn existing crop production systems into a more environmentally friendly manner. In particular, the Thünen Institute has developed solutions to the questions of how and at what cost the use of plant protection products can be reduced, how nutrient discharges - especially of nitrogen - into the environment can be minimised and what measures can be taken to increase biodiversity in the agricultural landscape.

In the context of digitalisation, it is expected that innovative technologies will lead to a more precise and demand-oriented use of inputs in the future, thus making crop production more efficient and environmentally friendly. Therefore, the Thünen Institute has estimated the environmental benefits of technologies that will be available in the medium term and what is needed to ensure that possible potentials can be tapped in the future.

Expertise

Reducing pesticides: How and at what cost?

Using the example of a model arable farm in the soil-climate region "Südhannover", we estimated how farmers typically proceed when the use of chemical plant protection products is to be reduced, and how high their adaptation costs are.

Increasing biodiversity – what does it cost?

Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes has been declining for years. Agriculture has a special responsibility in this context. On the one hand, it is considered as contributor to this decline but on the other hand, as a land user, it also has the potential to contribute to preservation and increasing of biodiversity.

Digitalisation in Crop Production: Savings Potentials and Profitability

Digitalisation in arable farming is associated with great hopes for more sustainable crop production. But how high are the costs and what benefits can be expected from the technologies available in the medium term? The Thünen Institute has investigated these questions.

The view from space

Detailed land use data is essential for many monitoring tasks at the Thünen Institute and forms an essential basis for research and advisory activities. However, the availability of such data is often limited. Remote sensing closes this gap.

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