11/03/24 Tree planting and agroforestry; Pesticides report; Fertiliser from byproducts.

The writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare have long been advocates for helping young people learn more about farming and the countryside, so much so, that they set up Farms for City Children nearly 50 years ago. Young people help run the farm and learn about both farming and nature. For one of their latest projects in Devon, they’ve teamed up with the Woodland Trust to involve primary school children, planting trees inside what they call roundels - a protective barrier, which keeps out livestock until the trees are big enough to become part of an agroforestry grazing system. MPs on The Science and Technology Committee have called on the government to publish its National Plan for Sustainable Pesticide Use which has been been delayed by six years. The report on insect decline and pesticide use says insects are vital for food security and describes government targets to reduce pesticide use by at least half by 2030 as ambitious and welcome, but also narrow and incomplete. The Royal Entomological Society, which gave evidence to the committee, says the decline in insects has serious implication for ecosystems - including agricultural ones We hear a lot about waste in food and farming and this week we are going to look at ways of using by products or waste products from agriculture as something useful. The Blenheim estate in Oxfordshire is in the middle of a trial to turn all its organic waste, including livestock manure and sheep wool, into a material that can be used to boost soil quality or as part of an organic fertiliser.  Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney