News from 2019 tagged as food security

September

Funding partnership to tackle top horticultural pest and diseases press release

Research funds of £250,000 are now available for five projects to tackle high priority pests and diseases threats for horticulture crops. This is the result of a new initiative from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, and Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) working together to invest in research for horticultural production.

£5.3m joint investment to support sustainable food production in Latin America BBSRC press release

BBSRC, in collaboration with ESRC and NERC, recently invested in seven projects awarded through the Newton Fund to provide solutions for long term, sustainable production of food in Colombia and Mexico. Projects include those to help boost the Mexican avocado crop and supporting Colombian cattle.

August

BBSRC collaboration with US funders NSF and NIFA to support Breakthrough Technologies to Advance Crop Breeding news

In this recent collaboration with US funders, BBSRC supports 10 research projects focussing on using and developing cutting edge technology to advance crop breeding with £2 million from the Fund for International Collaboration (FIC) which was announced earlier this year. In these two year high-risk, high-reward projects British researchers collaborate with US researchers funded by either the National Science Foundation (NSF) or USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The total call volume is approximately £8 million.

Where are the bees? Tracking down which flowers they pollinate

Earlham Institute (EI), with the University of East Anglia (UEA), have developed a new method to rapidly identify the sources of bee pollen to understand which flowers are important for bees.

June

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Copyright: Dyrson Abbade Neto - University of São Paulo

Over £2.4m joint investment to combat pests and microbe pathogens of crops and livestock in Brazil BBSRC press release

BBSRC has recently invested in six projects to be funded through the Newton Fund to combat one of the biggest threats to food security - agricultural losses due to pests and pathogens that are resistant to current treatments. Agricultural pests and pathogens on which current treatments have no effect are constantly emerging leaving farmers helpless to control for outbreaks.

May

This latest research establishes a clear link between temperature and productivity. Copyright: Phil Robinson

The winter weather window that is costing UK rapeseed growers millions news

UK rapeseed growers are losing up to a quarter of their crop yield each year because of temperature rises during an early-winter weather window. This figure emerged in new research by the John Innes Centre which identifies a critical period from late November to the Winter Solstice, December 21 or 22, where temperature has a strong link to yields.

April

Targeting how fungi 'taste' wheat could be key to developing control press release

Exploring how a hazardous fungal pathogen ‘tastes’ its surroundings within a wheat plant to coordinate virulence could be the key to developing new control strategies, scientists believe. Researchers at the University of Bath and Rothamsted Research have been examining how “fungal G-protein coupled receptors”, which are similar to taste receptors on our tongues, are involved in promoting Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) – a damaging and hazardous disease of wheat which is the number one floral disease in cereals globally.

March

From left to right, Maia Elliot (GFS), Lauren McGale (runner-up), Claire Kanja (winner), and Riaz Bhunnoo

Speaking Up For Food Security: BBSRC researcher announced as winner for first ever Global Food Security early career researcher competition press release

Claire Kanja from Rothamsted Research has been named winner of the first ever Global Food Security competition ‘Speak Up for Food Security’. Twelve finalists competed to win the Global Food Security (GFS) Programme’s first ever ‘Speak Up for Food Security’ competition in London on Friday 15 March.

Testing milk samples could enhance foot-and-mouth disease surveillance news

A follow on study by scientists at The Pirbright Institute and the University of Glasgow has demonstrated that milk samples collected in the field can be used successfully to recognise cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). This method was used in Tanzania, where the disease is endemic and outbreaks across regions are frequent.

New study on the impact of farming technologies on salmon robustness news

Aquaculture experts at the University of Stirling are leading a £2 million study that aims to provide important information on the impact of innovative farming technologies on salmon. The Robust-Smolt study – involving 14 institutions and organisations – will compare the robustness and susceptibility of Atlantic salmon to pathogens when reared in recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS), used in fish farming to reduce the need for fresh, clean water while maintaining a healthy environment for fish.

February

The latest research could help develop breeds that have less feathers and are more heat resistant. Copyright free (pixabay/creative common CCO)

Understanding feather formation could lead to cooler birds news

Scientists have revealed how bird feathers form which could help develop breeds that are more heat resistant. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute identified chemical signals that are switched on and off in the birds’ skin as feathers are arranged sequentially.

Copyright free (Pexels/Creative Commons CC0)

Research and innovation support the UK's leading agricultural event BBSRC press release

The UK’s largest agricultural sector event kicks off tomorrow in Birmingham. The National Farmers Union’s (NFU) annual conference attracts thousands of visitors and sets the tone for the farming year ahead through political sessions and workshops focused on research, innovation and meeting the needs of the agriculture community.

Copyright: (Pexels/creative Commons CC0)

Survey seeks to gauge public opinion on gene-edited meat press release

People are being invited to share their views on the use of gene-editing technologies in animals through an online survey. The questionnaire is focused on people’s perceptions of gene editing in livestock, and whether they would eat meat from an animal that has had its DNA altered.

Rapid gene cloning technique will transform crop disease protection press release

Researchers have pioneered a new method which allows them to rapidly recruit disease resistance genes from wild plants and transfer them into domestic crops. The technique called AgRenSeq or speed cloning has been developed by John Innes Centre researchers alongside colleagues in the United States and Australia to speed up the fight against pathogens that threaten food crops worldwide.

January

UK at forefront of global R&D collaboration with £79 million investment press release

Advanced crop breeding, tackling infectious disease and clean energy technologies are just three areas where the UK will partner with world-leading collaborators to push boundaries and meet 21st century challenges. These are part of a £79 million investment in international projects announced today Tuesday 22 January 2019, that will see UK researchers and innovators working with their counterparts across the globe.