Invergowrie, Scotland, United Kingdom

The UK government’s plans for a new agricultural strategy to meet future food demands and the challenges of climate change have been welcomed by SCRI - the Scottish Crop Research Institute in Invergowrie.

Food 2030 aims to put consumers in the driving seat and encourage healthier, more sustainable eating.

An SCRI spokesman said the crucial task of ensuring sustainable continuity of food supply was one of the factors behind the recent decision to create a new ‘super institute’ in Scotland. SCRI and the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen are to join together to form an organisation that will be the first of its kind in Europe.

The spokesman said: “Our demand for food is becoming increasingly complex…and contradictory. The global food issue is already combining with climate change to present Scotland and the rest of the world with new dilemmas.

“The growth in the global population – to about ten billion by the middle of this century – is almost unsustainable. I think the world’s agricultural system may be capable of feeding 10 – 12 billion people, but the costs in terms of pollution and damage to our eco-systems could be very, very high.”

The UK government has promised £50m for food and agriculture research over the next five years. Much of the money, which will come from different sources including the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is expected to go to find ways to reduce carbon loss from soils and waste food and finding ways to grow food with less fertiliser, pesticides and other inputs.

The SCRI spokesman said the new research institute, expected to come into being in the Spring next year, would be able to undertake research of global importance and will once again demonstrate to the world the excellence of Scottish science and innovation.
The spokesman said: “It is one of the things for which Scotland is rightly famous. SCRI and the Macaulay already share many areas of common interest; together we will bring scientific excellence with delivery.”

Website: http://www.scri.sari.ac.uk

Published: January 5, 2010