More than 100 world leaders have promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, in the COP26 climate summit's first major deal.

Brazil - where stretches of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down - was among the signatories on Tuesday. The pledge includes almost £14bn ($19.2bn) of public and private funds.

Experts welcomed the move, but warned a previous deal in 2014 had "failed to slow deforestation at all" and commitments needed to be delivered on.

Rothamsted scientists have made a series of unexpected discoveries within the wheat genome which they say should lead to new wheat varieties over the coming years. Looking at almost 1300 of the ‘promoter’ regions that regulate the activity of genes in 95 different commercial, landrace and ancestral wheats, the team have shown that these promoter regions are remarkably similar when different wheat varieties are compared.

That these promoter regions have remained mostly unchanged means that they are likely to be as important as the part of the gene coding for proteins – and that when slight differences between individual varieties are seen these could have significant impacts on plant traits. Such traits include grain quality, nutrient use efficiency, disease resistance, and adaptation to climate change.

According to first author Dr. Michael Hammond-Kosack, this new research provides a potential gold-mine for plant breeders and researchers looking to improve crops.

Cutting-edge robotics and AI technology which is influencing the future of sustainable food production will be shown at the COP26 climate summit.

The event takes place in Glasgow for two weeks, bringing together nations in accelerating action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

With an estimated 37% of the world’s greenhouse gasses being produced by the agri-food industry, the government has selected the University of Lincoln to share its promising agri-tech research.

Farmers in England are at risk of being forced out of business under a “haphazard” transition from the old Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, a cross-party committee of MPs has warned.

In its latest report, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) select committee calls on the government to fully assess the impact that “the biggest change to agricultural policy in 70 years” will have on farm businesses.

Gene-editing could contribute to the climate resilience of livestock in hot climates, UK scientists have said.

Researchers at the Rosilin Institute have developed a gene-editing technique that could improve heat tolerance in cattle.

Their approach reproduces a naturally occurring genetic change that cattle can pass on to their offspring through natural breeding.

A UK-first school seeking to help farmers adopt regenerative methods of agriculture has launched at Harper Adams University. The School of Sustainable Food and Farming is the first of its type in the UK, with courses covering livestock, soil health and biodiversity.

In the UK, agricultural production is currently responsible for 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Harper Adams University says the school will play a part in realising the government’s new ‘green’ agriculture policy, unveiled in November last year.

A new plan has been set out by the government to help the UK reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, including funding to help farmers decarbonise. The government on Tuesday (19 October) published its long-awaited strategy for reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

New support will help achieve low-carbon farming and agricultural innovation through the Farming Investment Fund and the Farming Innovation Programme. The government said these schemes would help farmers invest in equipment, technology, and infrastructure to improve profitability and support emissions reductions. And £625m will be made available to support farmers and landowners to plant 30,000 hectares of new trees per year by 2024, along with peatland restoration targets.

A majority of farmers are doubtful of agri-tech's ability to help them meet net zero goals despite most farmers using it, a UK-wide survey has revealed. The Agri-EPI research sought to understand why farmers are using agri-tech, shed light on barriers to its use and explore the tech they think will be needed in the future.

Agri-EPI centre’s chief executive, David Ross said: “We are struck by the fact that only around a third felt tech has a role to play in environmental sustainability. Technology is one of the solutions to helping farmers reduce their emissions – agri-tech that helps farmers be more efficient and productive usually offers a win-win for sustainability.”

Farmers and growers with ideas that could directly benefit the agriculture and horticulture sectors in England can bid for a share in a £17.5m pot of funding.

Defra’s new Research and Development Partnerships Fund has been ring-fenced for initiatives that increase farm productivity and environmental sustainability.

As the first initiative to be announced in the new Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), this fund aims to support “game-changer’’ farming and forestry ideas – ones that will solve issues that are holding the sector back.

Britain’s food industry needs to raise its productivity and sustainability by investing in skills and becoming more resilient to shocks. It also needs to work to supply sustainable and healthy food, and for high standards of food production and integrity of raw materials to be supported.

Those are among the key recommendations of the Food and Drink Sector Council (FDSC) in its report ‘Feeding the Future: working together to build the National Food Strategy’. Its ideas will contribute to the Government’s new National Food Strategy, which is due to be published early in 2022.