New UK Initiative Aims to Increase Food Productivity
October 16, 2009| |
United Kingdom's Technology Strategy Board, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have launched the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform, a new program that will "bring the government, business and researchers together to stimulate the development of new technologies that will increase food productivity, while decreasing the environmental impact of the food and farming industries." The program will invest up to £75 million (USD 122 million) over the next five years to support "innovative" research and development in areas such as crop productivity, sustainable livestock production and greenhouse gas reduction.
The new program will begin its work by investing up to £13 million (USD 22 million) in new research and development that will help crop growers to respond to the dual challenges of increasing productivity while reducing the environmental impact of crop production.
"This new Innovation Platform will play to this country's strengths in agriculture, food and biotechnology research. In helping to bring the quality of British research to bear on a global problem, we will be doing a service not just to ourselves, but to the rest of the world," said BBSRC's Celia Caulcott.
The media release is available at http://www.innovateuk.org/content/news/sustainable-agriculture-and-food-initiative-aims-t.ashx
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Agriculture Needs to be More Productive
- Global Hunger Index 2009
- Economic Impact of Biotech Crops Felt at Farm/Global Levels Says Study
- Looming Phosphate Crisis can Imperil Food Production and Security
- Gates Announces Agricultural Package for Africa
- Project to Boost Crop Production in Poor Sub-Saharan Africa and India
- COMESA Recognizes Potential of Biotechnology
- Bacteria Linked to Mystery Spud Disease
- Brazil Oks Three More GM Crops
- USDA Funds Agricultural Plant Genomics, Genetics and Breeding Research
- Reducing the Impact of Soybean Aphids in the U.S.
- ARS Releases Corn Lines Resistant to Diseases, Aflatoxin Contamination
- West Australia and GM Technology
- Ex-ante Analysis of Biotech Papaya in Thailand
- Indonesian Scientists Seek Implementation of Biosafety Regulation
- Bayer Completes Genome Sequencing of Rapeseed
- New UK Initiative Aims to Increase Food Productivity
- Germany: GM Pea Field Tests to be Relocated to the U.S.
- EuropaBio Position Paper on Biotech SMEs
-
Research Highlights
- Scientists Develop Cowpea Genetic Map
- Sibling Recognition in Plants
-
Announcements
- International Conference on Agricultural Biotech Frontiers
-
Resources
- Borlaug Tribute in Several Languages
- Book on Rice-Wheat System
- Pakistan Biotechnology Report
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 17, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 10, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet