ARABLE ACRONYMS ANALYZED - A REVIEW OF INTEGRATED ARABLE FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH IN WESTERN-EUROPE

Arable production has come under increasing economic and environmental pressures, especially in the last decade. These have derived from ove r-production, decreased farm incomes and a concern with the possible e nvironmental effects of intensive pesticide use associated with such i ntensive cultivation. A number of long-term research programmes on int egrated farming systems and their sustainability have recently been co mpleted or are currently under way. In the UK, these include the 'Boxw orth' project, 'SCARAB', 'TALISMAN', RISC, 'LINK Integrated Farming Sy stems', 'LIFE' and the demonstration-only programme 'LEAF'. These proj ects are reviewed in terms of their objectives, designs and results to date, and are compared with some parallel programmes in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France.