Invitation to SCI’s Free Public Evening Lecture
Dr Alastair Leake – Sustainable agriculture: Enabling biodiversity alongside intensive farming
Wednesday 28 March 2018
- In 50 years, the land free to feed the population has dropped from two to half an acre per person
- Unsustainable agriculture is a major cause of habitat loss
- The global vertebrate population has fallen by 58% since 1970
Intensive agriculture has become synonymous with environmental degradation, and the world is struggling to find the balance between feeding the population while maintaining natural habitats. During his Public Evening Lecture, on 28 March 2018, Dr Alastair Leake will examine measures that can be integrated into agricultural production systems to allow for high levels of food production and biodiversity to occur simultaneously; all by intensifying the management of agricultural systems.
About the speaker
Dr Alastair Leake is Director of Policy & Allerton Project at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Leicestershire, where intensive farming and exceptional levels of biodiversity co-exist. The Allerton farm is one of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ Sustainable Intensification Demonstration Platforms and has produced ground-breaking research on the effects of different farming methods on biodiversity. He has over 20 years of vast experience in the farming industry.
Dr Leake has a PhD in Organic and Integrated Farming Systems from Leicester University and is a BASIS-registered agronomist and trainer, as well as being the current chairman of the awards panel at the Royal Agricultural Society of England. He is also a member of the board of directors at Rothamsted Research, the world’s oldest agricultural research institute.
Date for your diary: Wednesday 28 March 2018
Venue: SCI HQ, 15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS
Reception opens at 18.00 and the lecture starts at 18.30. This is a free event.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About SCI: where science meets business
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