The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) officially opened its new purpose-built glasshouse facility at Park Farm near Histon in Cambridge last Friday.
The MacLeod Complex has been named after Professor John MacLeod, former NIAB director and now chairman of the NIAB trust, and was built with latest greenhouse technology and biomass heating to replace older glasshouses due for demolition at the main NIAB site on Huntingdon Road.
The complex is part of a wider programme of investment by NIAB to update and extend the institute’s facilities for plant science, variety evaluation and seed testing.
NIAB chief executive Dr Tina Barsby said: “With mounting concerns over food security and climate change, NIAB is positioning itself for a future where the importance of plant genetics will undoubtedly increase. Our aim is to bring together within a unique resource the specialist knowledge, skills and facilities needed to support the development of improved crop varieties, to evaluate their performance and quality, and to ensure the benefits of those advances are transferred effectively onto UK farms. This investment marks a further step towards that objective.”
James Paice, MP for south-east Cambridgeshire and shadow farming minister, opened the complex.
He said: “NIAB is renowned internationally for its expertise in seed and variety testing, and this impressive new glasshouse facility will help strengthen the Institute’s core activities in those areas. I’m also delighted that NIAB is extending its research capabilities to strengthen the link between the genetic improvement of crops and their delivery into practical agriculture. Such developments will be vital if UK agriculture is to play its part in meeting the challenge of increasing yields while reducing environmental impact.”
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