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

埃克塞特大学的GRTA将共同设计可持续的GCRF粮食安全解决方案，将DAC国家的粮食安全挑战转化为社会和经济发展机遇。自GCRF启动以来，埃克塞特大学建立了跨学科的GCRF粮食安全组合，直接解决生态系统改造、营养、气候变化和破坏性经济问题。通过战略和公平的伙伴关系，我们的目标是提供可持续的、挑战主导的影响。埃克塞特大学的GRTA旨在在合同的头六个月内以及整个合同期限内快速提供可扩展的解决方案。通过竞争性选择，我们通过更大规模的战略优先奖和早期灵活扩展奖预先确定了一系列项目。通过颁发这些奖项获得的经验将形成一个GRTA创新和商业化模式，并在埃克塞特大学ODA投资组合的其他主题中复制。战略优先项目包括：1)使基于树木的放牧系统多样化，为亚马逊森林砍伐弧线地区的小农创造价格溢价机会。PI: Toby Pennington教授。亚马逊河流域和拉丁美洲许多其他地区的土壤往往营养贫乏，不适合长期农业利用。从自然植被转为农业的土地往往只能在几年里保持生产力，这就需要不断推进农业前沿；导致森林砍伐、粮食不安全和贫困。农林业（AFS）和森林畜牧业（SPS）系统将树木纳入作物和牲畜系统，可对退化和废弃农业景观的长期生产力的维持和恢复产生重大影响。它们非常适合贫困的农村小农使用，并为生计和粮食安全以及当地经济带来重大利益。印加是一种豆科树木，分布在拉丁美洲的热带地区。这些快速生长的树木吸收大气中的氮，并使周围的土壤肥沃。它们可以生长在贫瘠、退化的土壤中，胜过竞争激烈的杂草和入侵物种。它们在巴西亚马逊地区尤其有前景，在那里，它们在SPS系统中的使用为小农提供了高达250%的牛奶溢价。我们的项目将通过在巴西马托格罗索州种植社区种子果园，作为扩大AFS和SPS系统的基础，解决因加种子无法储存的问题。此外，它还将开发20个基于因加的家庭农场SPS系统作为示范项目，为在区域推广这种方法提供基础。2)去除墨西哥有问题的海藻藻并将其工业转化为高质量、低成本的可持续农业肥料产品。PI：迈克·艾伦博士。墨西哥加勒比海海岸不断受到入侵海藻的侵袭。去年，数百万吨的海水袭击了墨西哥加勒比海的海岸线。目前，一个破纪录的550公里长的腐烂马尾藻生物质正朝着同样的方向前进。这场危机的影响是复杂的；海藻破坏和退化珊瑚礁和海洋生态系统。据保守估计，受影响地区对旅游业（每年230亿美元的市场，占墨西哥GDP的8.7%）的影响将减少30%。这正在成为一种新常态。该项目旨在开发一种新的水热处理技术，可以利用并将这种丰富的资源转化为下一代农业肥料产品。我们的目标是在18个月内对至少一种化肥产品进行市场测试，通过与具有全球影响力的墨西哥合作伙伴的合资企业交付。我们预计化肥产品将具有很强的竞争力，并提供高质量的作物。因此，通过降低成本和提高农民收入以及为消费者提供更有营养的食品，这为加强墨西哥和拉丁美洲的粮食安全提供了巨大的潜力。

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.