Crop research centre in UK gets £60m investment for sustainable agriculture

Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire has been awarded the package from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), enabling it to enhance its capability to deliver world-leading research.

Professor Angela Karp, Rothamsted Research chief executive, said the funding will significantly enhance the Institute’s capability to deliver world-leading research: “This investment from BBSRC is a real show of confidence in Rothamsted and our ability to provide solutions to the some of the greatest challenges facing society.”

Prof Karp said in recent years, Rothamsted research had:

• Helped pave the way for high fibre white bread.
• Completed soil amps in every field in Africa possible.
• Led Europe’s first trial of a genome edited wheat that helps tackle cancer.
• Helped find ways of reducing emissions associated with livestock grazing.
• Identified environmental trends such as insect declines.
• Unearthed how and why carbon is so important for healthy soils that can help fight climate change.

“We look forward now to even bigger breakthroughs over the next 5 years as we prepare for the great challenges ahead – the global population is growing, its resources are dwindling and there will be no hiding places from the ravages of climate change.

“So whether it’s breeding drought resistant crops or engineering plants to act as mini-factories, our researchers are urgently seeking the solutions that will ensure the world’s food supply for decades to come.

“And of course, underpinning all of this is the imperative to grow food in harmony with the world – by tackling pests and diseases without the use of pesticides; to keep yields up without the use of man-made fertilisers; and by recruiting allies – from trees to insects – to help out our farming systems.”

Off setting negative impact of climate challenges

Its most recent published research, carried out with the University of Reading and University of Newcastle, found that the negative impact of climate variability on food security and farm incomes could be offset by farmers growing a wider range of produce, using pesticides and fertiliser more efficiently.

The report also found that on some farms, government subsidies linked to environmental stewardship help make incomes and food production more stable, compared to schemes that just pay farmers for how much land they farm.

The Rothamsted funding is part of an overall £376m BBSRC package led by specialist institutes across the UK