Group News
December 2011
Support for agricultural R&D is essential to deliver sustainable increases in UK food production, November 2010
Science & Technology News
UN calls for science-led ‘ever-green’ agricultural
revolution
THE UN has called on international Governments to create a
21st Century ‘ever-green revolution’ for
agriculture that would aim to double production, while
protecting the earth’s resources.
In a new report on global sustainable development, the UN
highlights the importance of international investment in
agricultural science, including biotechnology, to achieve
these goals.
US air pollution costs EU 1.2M tonnes of wheat a year
A team of researchers from the universities of Leeds and
York has discovered that anthropogenic (human-made) air
pollution from North America causes Europe to lose 1.2
million tonnes of wheat a year. The scientists have said
their research shows for the first time the extent of the
Northern Hemisphere's intercontinental crop losses caused by
ozone - a chemical partly produced by fossil fuels.
The study’s
outcomes reflect poorly on the North American countries,
which have abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, as it suggests that
increasing levels of air pollution from one continent may
partly offset efforts to cut carbon emissions in another.
UK Expects Warming to Boost Crop Yields From Sugar to Wheat
Sugar and wheat farming probably will become more productive
as the average temperature rises across the UK in the next
40 years, the government concluded in a report assessing the
impact of climate change.
Sugar beet yields may rise 20 percent to 70 percent and
wheat yields by as much as 140 percent because the
atmosphere is warming, the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs said today.
“A warmer climate presents opportunities to grow new crops
such as soya, sunflowers, peaches, apricots and grapes,” the
department said a statement in London.
Double agricultural research to help world's poorest: Bill
Gates
The world needs at least to double its spending on agricultural research if it is to produce reliable crops and improve the lives of the one billion people who battle starvation every day, Bill Gates said in an interview on Tuesday.
A day before flying to Davos to meet
political and business leaders, Gates said he was concerned
the austerity drive in Europe could lead to a fall in
foreign aid spending, setting back the fight against
poverty, hunger and disease.
While acknowledging the difficulties
policymakers in the richer world face at a time of slumping
growth, the world's second wealthiest man said now was the
time to invest in research and development.
Fruit and vegetable consumption by poorer families falls
30%, figures show
Lower income families in the UK have cut their consumption
of fruit and vegetables by nearly a third in the wake of the
recession and rising food prices, to just over half of the
five-a-day portions that the government recommends for a
healthy diet.
Households in the lowest tenth of incomes were buying only
2.7 portions of fruit and vegetables a day at the end of
2010, the latest year for which figures are available, while
the average household continued to buy about four portions
per person, according to statistics from the Department of
Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). For lower income
households, that represents a 30% decline in purchases of
fresh fruit and vegetables since 2006.
The Guardian, 23 January 2012
50% of EU-produced food thrown away
Half of the food produced in the EU
gets wasted (89 million tonnes per year, equal to the weight
of 1,000 Airbus planes per day), while 16 million EU
citizens struggle every day to get a proper meal without
support from charities, according to a report adopted by the
European Parliament today in Strasbourg.
The report, drafted by S&D (Socialist
and Democrat) MEP Salvatore Caronna, lays out an action plan
for a 50% cut in edible food waste by 2025, calling on the
European Commission to adopt practical measures to further
this goal.
TB pilot areas confirmed
Landowners and farmers from two
carefully-selected areas are now able to apply for licences
to pilot new measures designed to tackle the devastating
impact of bovine TB, Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has
confirmed.
The disease forced the slaughter of
25,000 cattle in 2010 alone and will cost taxpayers around
£1 billion over the next ten years if not effectively dealt
with.
Two areas in
West Gloucestershire and West Somerset have been selected,
from a shortlist proposed by the farming industry, as the
most suitable to pilot controlled shooting of badgers. This
forms part of a science-led and closely monitored policy to
bring bovine TB under control.
more
‘Super-grass’ may boost diet and
bioenergy
A newly discovered family of genes could
help scientists breed ‘super-grasses’ with improved
properties for food and fuel, new research from Cambridge,
UK, reveals.
Researchers from the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council Sustainable Bioenergy
Centre have discovered a family of genes that could help us
breed grasses, such as rice and wheat, with enhanced
properties for diet and bioenergy.
The research was carried out by a team
from the University of Cambridge and Rothamsted Research,
which receives strategic funding from BBSRC. Their findings
are published in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Europol warns of counterfeit pesticide trade
The European crime intelligence agency Europol as issued a
warning that organised crime groups in Europe are behind a
growth in the trade of illegal and counterfeit pesticides.
The agency said organised criminals have been attracted to
the exceptionally ‘low risk – high profit’ margin of the
market. This, combined with the lack of harmonisation in
legislation and implementation, mean the trade is growing
rapidly, according to Europol intelligence.
North East
Europe in particular has been targeted by the criminal
networks involved in the supply of illegal and counterfeit
products, but the agency warned that the pesticides have
been found throughout Europe. In some states, in excess of
25 per cent of the pesticides in circulation are believed to
come from the illegal pesticide market; it is estimated that
the global trade in illegal pesticides earns criminals
billions of euros each year.
BASF to end GM production in Europe
German chemical company BASF today announced it will be
stopping production of genetically modified (GM) crops for
the European market. The company blamed hostility from
consumers as the reason behind its decision. Approval
procedures in the EU take much longer than elsewhere and are
frequently mired in stalemate, as politicians and member
states' attitudes to GM differ.
Stefan Marcinowski, a spokesperson for BASF, said, “There is
still a lack of acceptance for this technology in many parts
of Europe – from the majority of consumers, farmers and
politicians. It does not make business sense to continue
investing in products exclusively for cultivation in this
market.”
The company announced it will now move its plant-science
unit from Limburgerhof, Germany to the United States and
would be closing other sites in Germany and Sweden. BASF
said it would also be withdrawing its Amflora potato from
the European market, leaving Monsanto’s MON810 maize as the
only crop licensed for production in the EU.
Farming Online, 16 January 2012
Funding secured for NIAB Innovation Farm
A unique £6.8
million NIAB project has secured EU funding to improve the
transfer
of innovative plant science from research laboratories
through to commercial markets.
NIAB Innovation Farm has been awarded a
£2.7 million grant from the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF), with additional match-funding coming from
industry and academic partners.
The initiative,
based at NIAB in Cambridge, demonstrates how plant resources
and crop genetic improvement can help address the major
global challenges of food security, climate change and
resource conservation together with improvements in health
and nutrition.
Discovery of plant ‘nourishing gene’ brings hope for
increased crop seed yield and food security
University of Warwick scientists have discovered a
"nourishing gene" which controls the transfer of nutrients
from plant to seed - a significant step which could help
increase global food production.
The research, funded by BBSRC and led
by the University of Warwick in collaboration with the
University of Oxford and agricultural biotech research
company Biogemma, has identified for the first time a gene,
named Meg1, which regulates the optimum amount of nutrients
flowing from mother to offspring in maize plants.
Farming not to blame for human antimicrobial resistance
NEW research suggests animals may not be to blame for
antimicrobial resistance in humans. Scientists from the
University of Glasgow found the risk of antimicrobial
resistance passing from animals to humans is lower than
previous research has indicated.
The research, published in the Proceedings of the Royal
Society B, exploited long-term surveillance data of
Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 from co-located humans and
animals in Scotland. The findings demonstrated how animal
and human DT104 populations differ significantly in several
ways such as prevalence, linkage, time of emergence, and
diversity suggesting the local animal populations are
unlikely to be the major source of resistance in humans.
Climate change 'will boost British farmers’
Climate change will be good for British farming, according
to Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, with exotic
crops such as melons already thriving.
In a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference, she said that,
although problems such as droughts would become more
frequent, warmer weather would also mean a longer growing
season and less frost damage, allowing the introduction of
crops such as peaches, maize and sunflowers. Already 10,000
melons are expected to be harvested in Kent this year.
Mrs Spelman said farmers must “seize the opportunities” of
increased production as well as preparing for more droughts
and floods by building reservoirs and drains.
Tories and Labour renew backing for GM food crops
Controversial genetically modified food crops could help to
massively increase food production to meet growing
populations and consumption, politicians from both major
parties said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the annual Oxford Farming Conference,
agriculture minister Jim Paice said the promised benefits of
GM varieties – which would need less nitrogen fertiliser,
pesticides or fresh water than non-GM foods – could not be
ignored, as demand was rising and pressure on resources and
land increasing.
BBSRC Impact Report 2011 highlights impacts in food security
and innovation
Today (4 January 2012), the Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) publishes its Impact
Report 2011. The report details BBSRC's ongoing efforts to
ensure that BBSRC-funded research in basic biology can be
fully exploited to deliver economic and social benefits for
the UK.
The report (see related links) picks out a number of major
highlights from 2010 - 2011 including research to produce a
draft sequence of the wheat genome and the launch of a new
variety of Broccoli, called Beneforté, developed with
funding from BBSRC.
Call for UK farmers to increase
productivity
The government needs to introduce new
policies to help strengthen farmers’ ability to produce food
if the UK is going to remain a key player in global
agriculture.
A report commissioned by the Oxford Farming Conference says UK productivity must improve considerably in the next decade, or risk putting its ability to feed itself under threat.
Without help from DEFRA to find new ways to increase productivity through research and development, the report says the UK will not be able to hold its position on the global farming stage. more