£160m investment in agricultural research

THE launch yesterday of a new agricultural technologies strategy, backed by a £160 million investment, marks the UK government’s recognition of the importance of the food and agriculture industries to the country’s economy, employment and exports.

Commenting on the launch of the strategy, NFUS president Nigel Miller said: “The funding is a very significant injection of money into bridging the gap between agricultural science and technological innovation and in creating centres of excellence to drive uptake at farm level. Productivity on our farms has fallen in real terms of late and this is a first step in getting back up the ladder and our agriculture becoming world leading again.”

He said that the strategy, together with the sustained commitment from Scottish Government, marked a return of food and farming to the centre of government thinking.

The UK-wide scheme, developed in partnership with the industry, is aimed at bringing science and farming closer together – and it has been claimed that the move will not only help the country become a world leader in the field of agricultural technology but will also ensure a supply of sustainable, healthy and affordable food for future generations.

David Willetts MP, the UK minister for universities and science, said that central to this was rebuilding the connection between basic research and applied science to create modern systems that allowed farmers to access agri-tech expertise and use innovative techniques.

“The government spent £450m in 2011-12 on agri-food research and development. We have secured a further £160m in this strategy to accelerate innovation by UK food and farming businesses and to drive UK growth through the emerging global markets.”

Professor Bob Webb, principal and chief executive of the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) who sits on the leadership council, said that the integrated approach proposed in the strategy played to the SRUC’s strengths where the “Scottish system” saw a close integration between the research, development and consultancy services.

l Also announced yesterday was the award of £5m to the the Roslin Institute, based at the Easter Bush science campus outside Edinburgh, from a supplementary Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council award of £30m