Two leading UK institutes have joined forces with Waitrose to establish a new centre, aimed at helping the UK farming and food sector to meet increasing challenges in food production and sustainability.
The Centre of Excellence for UK Farming (CEUKF) will provide a network of expertise to help ensure that the best information and advice on developments in science, innovation and practical know-how are accessible to provide real benefits across the supply chain.
It aims to link and interact widely with partners in applied research and industry, and with policy-makers and stakeholders. The two founding institutes are the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), in Cambridge.
Waitrose agreed to seed-fund the establishment of the Centre of Excellence as part of its commitment to finding long-term solutions to food security, climate change and other issues affecting future agricultural production
Waitrose managing director Mark Price said: “Farmers and the food chain are fundamental to our response to the global challenge of feeding more people using fewer inputs and with reduced environmental impact. Securing a balance between increased productivity and more efficient use of natural resources will require new thinking and innovative approaches. That objective is fundamental to the Centre of Excellence.”
CEUKF steering board chair Sir Don Curry said the centre provides a practical response to high-level calls for the "sustainable intensification" of agriculture by translating cutting-edge science and practical know-how into meaningful guidance and support to meet the needs of farmers and food producers.
Initial work on the CEUKF began in June 2010, and already pilot research programmes are underway to benchmark the efficiency of agricultural production, focused on key sustainability indicators such as resource use, greenhouse gas emissions and ecological diversity. Preliminary results of these foundation projects will be announced later this year.
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