Latest update: 29/07/2011 

- agriculture - Alternative energy - electricity - genetics - GMO - Netherlands - sun


Future farming

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Droughts, floods and the cost of energy are all factors which are making agriculture an increasingly difficult trade.

ENVIRONMENT
By Mairead DUNDAS

This week we head to Cueillette de Servigny, a farm close enough to Paris that city dwellers can get a taste of what life is like for those who work the land for a living. But a day picking fruit and vegetables doesn't highlight the real challenges facing farmers.  We examine ways to safeguard the risky business of food production.

First we head to a farm that exists without sun or rain. A team of engineers in the Netherlands have developed plant chambers where the climate never fails.

Next we explore how developing drought-resistant crops could help to manage risks. While wheat farmers in France have to rely on a plant’s natural advantage, counterparts in the United States have embraced genetic modification.

And finally we look at how to convert methane in cow manure into electricity. The technique is proving to be positive for both the environment and the bank balance.

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