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Project title

Rethinking agricultural intensification and its links to zoonotic disease and farmland biodiversity: a One Health approach

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University College Dublin (UCD)

Lead Applicant

n/a

Project Abstract

As the global human population is projected to rise to 9.7 billion by 2050, there is growing pressure on agriculture to increase food production through intensification of practices. Agricultural intensification has been shown to affect biodiversity and facilitate the spread of zoonotic disease (disease transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans). Based on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)�s National Food Wise 2025 strategy, and the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, it must be recognised that intensive agricultural practices will continue in Ireland. Therefore, it is crucial that specific consideration of the potential consequences on environmental, animal, and human health be taken. To do this, an interdisciplinary, One Health approach must be implemented. This project seeks to gather relevant, farm-scale data on intensification, zoonotic disease, and biodiversity. A detailed questionnaire will be distributed to Irish farmers, gathering information about their farming practices and intensity changes over the past two decades. Environmental prevalence of zoonotic disease will then be assessed using microbiological and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. eDNA is a novel technique for detecting diseases in the environment. Following this, a breeding bird survey will be undertaken and compared with results from a similar survey from 2006-2008 in the same regions. Breeding birds can be used as a bioindicator to assess the impact of agricultural intensification on farmland biodiversity, as they are sensitive and respond quickly to environmental change. Using these results, further statistical analyses will then investigate the relationships between agricultural intensification, biodiversity, and zoonotic disease. These results will then be utilised to inform the development of a farm-scale-dependent One Health framework, with recommendations for eco-scheme subsidies that optimise food production paths, ensure farm viability, conserve biodiversity, and prevent disease emergence.

Grant Approved

�110,000.00

Research Hub

n/a

Research Theme

Ireland's Future Climate, its Impacts, and Adaptation Options

Start Date

01/09/2022

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/08/2026