Description
The Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) organized on 24 February 2023, a Workshop for farmers and crofters on the Application of Beneficial Microorganisms in Agriculture. Microorganisms perform a variety of activities such as fixing nitrogen, mobilizing phosphorous in forms that can be taken up by plants and maintaining ecosystem function. They are particularly useful in agriculture due to their roles in nutrient uptake, protection from pathogens and alleviation of stresses such as salinity. Savings in terms of costs incurred on phosphate fertilization required to sustain similar levels of plant productivity through use of arbuscular mycorrhizas has been estimated at £460 billion per year. Likewise, substitution of nitrogen fertilizers with rhizobial species has led to savings of up to £1.4 billion. Such financial benefits have attracted the attention of multinational biotechnology companies that are rushing in to monopolise these benefits through patenting. This workshop is aimed at building awareness among small farmers and crofters about the benefits from microorganisms for a sustainable and healthy agriculture and also about the increasing patenting of these organisms and risks these patents may pose in the future. The Workshop is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project Microb-Com (Grant ID 894188)| Period | 24 Feb 2023 |
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| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Glasgow, United KingdomShow on map |