The calendar of the United Nations (UN) establishes 5 June as World Environment Day. The aim of this event is to raise awareness among individuals and communities to take action to prevent the increasing pressure on the planet’s natural systems from reaching its limits, and thus to enjoy a more prosperous and secure future.
An important date in the calendar, which has gradually gained relevance since it began to be celebrated in 1974, and which the LIFE Innocereal EU project wanted to join with the launch of a “Manual of Best Practices for cereal production” aimed at making a more profitable and sustainable production seeking to reduce the emission of GHGs into the atmosphere. This manual has been produced by the University of Cordoba (UCO), which is in charge of leading this initiative within the project.
The manual begins with the practice of direct sowing, in which the soil is not ploughed from one agricultural season to the next and is kept protected by plant remains, and continues with crop rotation to maintain a balanced productivity over time and not completely depleting the soil of nutrients and water. Subsequently, it deals with the use of certified seed and re-use seed that guarantee quality, traceability, homogeneity and greater crop health; in addition to the implementation of Precision Agriculture and the need to use systems that allow the position of agricultural machinery to be identified in real time and precisely.
The following sections discuss harvesting with a yield monitor to make decisions in future seasons, the variable distribution of fertilisers to be able to make the right decisions adapted to different homogeneous areas within the same farm, the optimisation of the use of phytosanitary products and background fertilisation incorporated into the sowing line.
Finally, also as a fundamental part, the practices for the application of fertilisers with soil release control systems, the use of bio-stimulant products mixed with phytosanitary products and the use of proximity supply chains are written.
“LIFE Innocereal EU is working on the process of certifying the quality and sustainability of low-emission cereals to improve the competitiveness of producers of common wheat, durum wheat and malting barley. Therefore, the launch of this Manual of Good Practices is a further step in this direction, given that the document has served as a basis for initiating this process,” explains Francisco Márquez, Doctor of Agricultural Engineering and technical manager of the Rabanales Experimental Farm of the University of Cordoba (UCO).
In short, a document aimed at improving the environmental and economic sustainability of cereal production and focused on the impact and mitigation of climate change in agriculture.
The manual can be found on the LIFE Innocereal EU website and can be downloaded here.