Farming Today

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Farming Today: 13/12/23 Food and farming at COP28; Ecology out of kilter; Suffolk Punch horses

13/12/23 Food and farming at COP28; Ecology out of kilter; Suffolk Punch horses

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 13/12/23 Food and farming at COP28; Ecology out of kilter; Suffolk Punch horses

Climate summit progress with food and farming pledges.

COP28 and progress made with food and farming commitments on emissions.

For the first time, agriculture and its impact on climate change, was on the official agenda at the COP28 Summit in Dubai, which has just ended. While much of the debate about the final statement from the event has centred around reductions in the use of fossil fuels, progress was made on the role of agriculture. More than 120 countries signed a pledge to include agriculture in their national climate change equations, and ensure changes in agricultural practices are part of their plans for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the impacts of global warming.

A new study covering thousands of species has analysed how many plants and insects are now out of kilter with the seasons. The University of Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has looked at data covering the last 34 years across Europe, much of it gathered by citizen scientists. We speak to one of the authors about how particular crops are affected when nature is out of sync.

All week we're talking about rare breed farm animals. The Suffolk Punch is the oldest breed of heavy horse and according to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, all modern Suffolks are descended from just one horse which was born in 1768. There are currently 200 breeding mares today, but back in 1966 there were just nine Suffolk foals registered. 

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producers = Rebecca Rooney & Marie Lennon

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13/12/23 Food and farming at COP28; Ecology out of kilter; Suffolk Punch horses

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