DEFRA has joined forces with 30 other countries to increase agricultural productivity while reducing emissions of harmful gases.

The Global Research Alliance on greenhouse gas emissions was formed in December 2009 to reduce the level of gases released as agricultural productivity increased, said Sue Popple, deputy director for farming, food science and GM policy at DEFRA.

The alliance aimed to bridge the gaps in research on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, which accounted for around 14% of the world’s total emissions, she told visitors to the 2010 Crop World conference.

It was also coordinating research on an international scale, ensuring that scientists shared their findings with research communities and farmers in other countries as well as their own.

“We need to do more at the farm level, but that’s a hard thing as we’re dealing with a living thing that is very variable,” said Ms Popple. “On one hand we want to produce more, but on the other we need to be reducing emissions.”

With DEFRA funding set to fall after the government’s spending review, working together with other countries would help money go further, she said.