Today's announcement of £250m of new funding for the UK Bio-economy is a historic shift in the development of a new Industrial Policy for Science and Innovation, and paves the way for the UK - and the Norwich Research Park - to lead a new Green Revolution in crop science. The announcement by Rt. Hon. David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, of £250m new funding for the bio-economy is the launch pad of a new era of UK leadership in the bio-economy revolution sweeping the globe. We face an urgent challenge of global sustainable development. Explosive growth of population and emerging economies in the developing world creates urgent problems of food security, public health and clean energy. As the recent Foresight Report warned, we need to double global food production by 2050 with half the land, water and energy. This is driving a massive demand for new technologies in the 3 key 'life sciences' of Biomedicine, Cleantech and Agri-science. Breakthroughs in genetics, synthetic and systems biology and plant breeding techniques are driving a new Green Revolution in which a new generation of crops will allow us to feed the world. The UK's world leading research base in biomedicine is well known, but for too long we have neglected our world-beating agricultural research. Breakthroughs in GM crop science are fundamental to this Green Revolution, and today's announcement of major new funding for the UK Agri-science base marks a historic shift in the Government’s recognition of the importance of the UK Agricultural Science sector. We need a new debate about the potential of GM crop science to help low carbon, low pesticide and low impact agriculture in the developing world. We need to unlock the full value of the UK Ag Science base in support of the world's food needs, whilst ensuring choice for UK consumers in our home market.

 

For further detail on the funding announcement: http://www.bis.gov.uk/news

 

See also: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/policy/2012/120524-pr-minister-announces-250...

Norwich Research Park: http://www.norwichresearchpark.com/newsandevents.aspx

John Innes Centre: http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/index.htm#.T734m-2IV8c

Genome Analysis Centre: http://www.tgac.ac.uk/

Institute of Food Research: http://www.ifr.ac.uk/

Babraham Institute: http://www.babraham.ac.uk/

Rothamsted Research: http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/

Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/

Roslin Institute: http://www.roslin.ed.ac.uk/

Institute for Animal Health: http://www.iah.ac.uk/

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18195560

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/margareta-pagano/margareta-pagano-eurobond-or-no-the-iron-lady-is-not-for-turning-7791149.html