Farm Gate

In this programme we visit Sierra Leone.  We discuss how this West African country managed to stop Chinese, Russian, Korean and European vessels plundering their fish stocks, how stakeholders built a sustainable fisheries programme, and the challenges for international organisations such as the World Bank.  We also address the controversy over Sierra Leone's new Chinese-funded harbour project. ffinlo Costain talks to Salieu Sankoh, the co-ordinator of the World Bank-funded West African Regional Fisheries Programme in Sierra Leone, and to Phil Gawne, an advisor to the Program, and a former fisheries minister for Isle of Man Government. Produced by Farmwel.

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international NGO working to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future.  The Netflix film Seaspiracy concluded that sustainable seafood doesn't exist - but the MSC disagrees.  Currently, 16% of the world's wild caught fish is certified and carries its blue MSC ecolabel, and the organisation aims to have 30% engaged in its programme by 2030. ffinlo Costain speaks to George Clark, the MSC's programme director for the UK and Ireland.  They discuss what sustainable seafood is, how it's certified, how managed fisheries can restore fish stocks, and why the MSC refused to take part in Seaspiracy.

The Isle of Man is home to one of the most successful sustainable shell fish fisheries in the British Isles.  Developed over a period of 30 years, their Marine Nature Reserve now accounts for 52% of Manx coastal waters, and their Ramsey Bay scallops are the biggest in Britain.  ffinlo Costain talks to Phil Gawne, former Fisheries Minister of the Isle of Man Government, and to Peter Duncan, IOMG's Senior Marine Environment Officer. Produced by Farmwel.

Since 2013 more seafood has been produced globally in aquaculture systems than from wild caught fisheries.  The farming of fish at scale has come with costs as well as benefits, and as a relatively young industry, aquaculture has followed a steep learning curve. ffinlo Costain speaks to Tony Wall, the founder of the Fish Vet Group (now PHARMAQ), who helped to put fish sentience on the map.  ffinlo asks where aquaculture came from, how it developed, and how the industry can overcome its current challenges? Inspired by Seaspiracy, this programme is part of a mini-series in which we're talking about the future of ocean food. Produced by Farmwel.

In the wake of Seaspiracy, we're running a series of programmes about the future of wild and farmed seafood.   The vast majority of wild caught fish are now harvested by industrial-scale trawlers using vast and often indiscriminate nets and bottom trawling.  At the same time aquaculture, which has scaled so rapidly, has come under fire for high levels of waste and pollution and for poor welfare.   So, what's next for ocean food? ffinlo Costain is joined by Ruth Layton who, as a former director of FAI Farms, has spent 25 years studying agricultural and aquacultural systems, and by Ashleigh Bright, an expert in the science of sustainability in global food systems. Produced by Farmwel.

This is the final programme in our recent series about agroecological agriculture.  ffinlo Costain talks to David Finlay from The Ethical Dairy in Dumfries and Galloway, and Bryce Cunningham from Mossgiel Farm in Ayrshire.  The conversation focusses on building a market for direct liquid milk sales, and on cow with calf dairying. This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agroecology campaign run by the Soil Association, and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission's Farming for Change project. Other episodes focus on beef, mixed farming, vegetables and horticulture, and arable farming. #FarmerAmbassador #agroecology #FarmingforChange

Do we need a new state-owned Agroecology Development Bank for Britain?  The Food, Farming & Countryside Commission thinks so.  Their new report, 'Farming Smarter: Investing in our Future', says that an ADB would speed the transition to fair and nature-friendly farming – by filling the current gap in available finance, and building knowledge about agroecological agriculture in the financial sector. ffinlo Costain is joined by report co-author Tony Greenham, and by George Young, an agroecological farmer from Fobbing Farm in Essex and a former banker in the City of London. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme we talk about racism and discuss how to improve diversity in British agriculture and animal sciences.  We consider how to successfully encourage more of our black, Asian and minority ethnic population to enjoy the countryside. ffinlo Costain is joined by Navaratnam Partheeban, a dairy vet who co-founded the British Veterinary Ethnicity & Diversity Society, and Bushra Abu-Helil, a second year PhD student focussed on poultry health & welfare, and vice chair of the BAME Ecologist Network.  Produced by Farmwel.

What's the difference between agroecology and regenerative agriculture?  And what about holistic grazing, organic, no-till farming, or adaptive multi-paddock grazing?  In this programme we get to the bottom of the terminology. We also discuss how to get started in regenerative agriculture. ffinlo Costain is joined by Caroline Grindrod from Roots of Nature, and Kelly Watson from FAI Farms. Produced by Farmwel.

This is the fourth programme in our series about agroecological agriculture.  ffinlo Costain talks to Sinead Fenton from Aweside Farm in East Sussex, and to Joe Rolfe, the general manager at RB Organic Ltd in Norfolk. Sinead and Joe are Agroecology Ambassadors for the Soil Association.  This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agroecology campaign run by the Soil Association, and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission's Farming for Change project. Other episodes focus on beef, mixed farming, dairy, and arable farming. #FarmerAmbassador #agroecology #FarmingforChange