Upgrading agricultural research to save energy Researchers are looking into ways of promoting energy efficiency on European farms. The potential for energy saving is estimated to be at least 10 %. Energy © Thinkstock Energy consumption in agriculture is considerable, especially when indirect energy use is taken into consideration, such as that used to manufacture fertilisers and pesticides. Continual progress in areas of agricultural production offers ample opportunities for achieving energy savings. Nevertheless, energy efficiency in agriculture has to date received little attention in Europe. To remedy this situation, the EU-funded 'Agriculture and energy efficiency' (AGREE) project was established. It aims to put energy efficiency on the European research agenda for agriculture, based on its long-term potential, and the associated beneficial economic and ecological effects. Specifically, one of AGREE's objectives is to identify energy-saving measures in targeted agricultural applications and quantify their potential. Since energy use and savings depend mainly on the agri-environment or climate, the project has brought together agro-production systems from across Europe. Initially, the project team gathered information and compiled an inventory of ways to reduce the amount of energy required by the agriculture industry. This list of potential energy-saving measures included data on their economic and environmental effects. As a result of subsequent data analysis, AGREE found that the efficiency of energy use in agricultural production was specific to each country and geographic location. In addition, the total and specific energy consumption was found to vary substantially for each of the crops studied across Europe. Further work in the AGREE project will finalise an in-depth analysis of the energy-efficiency measures. The project's focus will be on trade-offs and win–win situations associated with these energy-saving measures in European agriculture. Ultimately, the project will showcase these measures alongside their impact on energy use, economic costs and greenhouse gas emissions for application in other EU sectors.
