Case studies

Here you’ll find various case studies of projects highlighting N8 AgriFood research with agrifood stakeholders and the impact they have had.

You can find out more about the policy work we do in our Food Systems Policy Hub.

Sustainable Consumption, the Middle Classes and Agrifood Ethics in the Global South

Sustainable food consumption spaces and practices in the Global South are of critical importance. Expanding middle class consumption in Global South countries is seen simultaneously as providing a potential stimulus to global economic growth and a threat to environmental sustainability.

Exploring the potential of local food hubs in deprived areas

This project investigated the suitability of food hubs to mitigate food poverty and resulted in the creation of new hubs in urban deprived areas, as well as a national support network for other communities trying to set up their own programmes.

Local Food Supply Chain Resilience: The Brexit Effect

The University of York and Lancaster University joined forces for the first study of supply chain resilience in relation to constitutional change in the face of the UK’s exit from the European Union. The findings were presented before MPs and Lords at the House of Commons.

Levering traditional Mexican tomato agrodiversity and knowledge to develop climate resilient, high-nutrition cultivars

This project supported early career researchers to establish tomato conservation programs, identify new market opportunities for poor tomato farmers and generate data on the agronomic and nutritional qualities of tomato collections.

UK Agrifood Value Chain Risk Analysis (AVCRA)

Identification and analysis of risks across the value chain is a pre-requisite for developing a resilient and sustainable supply chain of the future. The AVCRA project aims to investigate the socio-environmental and geo-political risk profile of UK agrifood value chains.

Rurban Revolution

This project investigates the potential of a new idea – rurbanisation (rural-isation of urban areas) – as a holistic solution to creating a healthy, sustainable and resilient food system. It is a vision for radically increasing the amount of space we devote to greenery and food growing in cities.

Harnessing the benefits of African leafy vegetables for smallholder farmers and their households

African leafy vegetables offer unique opportunities to diversify farming systems, contribute to climate change adaptation, ensure food security, alleviate poverty, increase income and improve human health.

Restoring African degraded landscapes with plant biodiversity and livestock management

Across Sub-Saharan Africa approximately 660 million hectares of land are degraded, leading to low land productivity, and poor and variable biomass production, as well as inability to graze livestock and lack of resilience of agriculture to climate extremes.

Dietary transitions in Ghanaian cities

As part of the Drivers of Food Choice competitive grants programme, an international team of researchers in Ghana, the UK and France launched their two year project to investigate what drives unhealthy dietary changes in Ghana in January 2017.

STFC Food Network+

The STFC Food Network+ applies the research capabilities of the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council to food industry and research challenges in sustainable production and resilient supply chains, as well as consumer behaviour and nutrition.

Using Critical Zone Science to Enhance Soil Fertility and Improve Ecosystem services for Peri-Urban Agriculture in China

This project deals with the competing problem of agricultural intensification resulting from population growth and food demand, whilst maintaining the water quality in the surface and sub-surface ecosystem.

N8 AgriFood researchers working to increase resilience of dairy farming

N8 AgriFood researchers from the Universities of Newcastle, Leeds and Liverpool are working on a major project that aims to make the UK dairy industry more sustainable and resilient.

IKnowFood

This £3.3 million project started in October 2016. It runs for four years and is led by Professor Bob Doherty from the York Management School with collaborators from across the Universities of York, Liverpool and Manchester.

Working to ensure sustainable, resilient & healthy food supplies for all