Agricultural University of Kraków
University of Agriculture in Krakow is a modern public institution of higher education of a European dimension, with a special impact upon the region of southern Poland, specific for its environment and demography resulting from its agrarian structure and afforestation rate.
Trying to meet the challenges of the future, the University researchers conduct investigations in key areas and disciplines, creating innovative knowledge-based economy. Many of them form a part of the strategic guidelines on the regional, national and global level, including the 2050 perspectives. These include modern methods and technologies of food production, which owing to a constant quality monitoring enable analysis of the food chain “from field to fork”. These activities determine public health and safety and in this sphere are defined as strategic for the State. Another important research trend is formed by the investigations on automatisation and optimisation of food manufacturing process. These comprise not only ergonomics but also precision farming systems. Other important issues affecting food quality are: a necessity to upgrade the standard of organic food production, soil composition monitoring and maximisation of yielding at simultaneous reduction of chemical use in agriculture. Another key factor are activities aiming at animal welfare improvement. These are complemented by cooperation with agricultural extension in the sphere of practical applications. Advanced research is also conducted on renewable sources of energy, for which agricultural production is a natural reserve of biocomponents. Plant biofortification in microelements, essential for humans, considerably increases the level of their absorption and allows to limit pharmacological supplements. A challenge which modern agricultural sciences face is a necessity to secure necessary food quantity for growing human population on Earth, at simultaneous reduction of acreage and progressing dezagrarization and degradation of soils, visible both in the scale of Poland and worldwide. Therefore, the works aiming at complementarity of solutions concerning food security for future are a necessity.
The postulates of limiting the effect of greenhouse gases emission following the assumptions of the Climate and Energy Package are realised by research on forest resources. Due to the longest period of analyses, these works have been planned far beyond 2050 and globally are also of strategic character.
