£90M for Centres of Innovation: Do Pigs, Poultry Want Their Share?

UK - The Government has made £90 million available for UK centres for innovation as part of its strategy to make UK farming more competitive, productive, resilient and sustainable. The British Pig & Poultry Fair will be discussing if pigs and poultry want their share for a monogastric centre of innovation.
calendar icon 11 April 2014
clock icon 4 minute read

The UK pig and poultry sectors can be proud of the role they have played in leading many industry developments over the years, however without securing future funding they run a real risk of falling behind other countries in terms of new innovations and developments.

"To allow the pig and poultry sectors to be at the forefront of the UK agricultural industry in terms of technological advancements, a centre of excellence, for the monogastric sector is essential," said Angela Booth of ABN. "We need the whole industry, from producers right through to commercial companies, to come together and show enthusiasm for such a dedicated resource to be able to secure a portion of the £90 million fund."

"We have some of the very best genetics in the world, but without new innovations for production we are going to struggle to compete in the global market," warns David Gardner of RASE. "Where in the past we may have seen numerous key research people, across several research centres, we now only have a hand full at most, due to a real lack of funding."

In the past, the success of this research has led to major industry developments such as the work into egg shell quality conducted by Professor Sally Solomon who headed up the Poultry Research Unit at Glasgow, and also the research by Dr Cole at Nottingham University, who pioneered the concept of the ‘ideal protein’ that is now universally applied in pig nutrition.

"The UK agricultural industry as a whole is extremely diverse and there will be high demand for funding from the £90 million on offer," said Ms Booth. "ABN and RASE are extremely passionate that the pig and poultry sectors come together at the Fair and act now to secure their share, and gain investment for facilities and more importantly, people for the future."

"It is vital that producers are involved in shaping the priorities for a centre of innovation within the sector and there is no better place to have the discussion than at the Pig & Poultry Fair," added David Gardner of the RASE. "We would like to invite anyone interested in getting involved in the discussion to come along and join us at 3.30pm on Tuesday 13 May."

Leading the discussion will be Martin Douglas OBE, Managing Director of Cargill Provimi, a member of the Leadership Council, along with Paul Toplis, Technical Director of Primary Diets. Mr Douglas and Mr Toplis will be taking questions on how to set up such a centre and what it could do for British producers.

If you would like to join the discussion, visit the Fair website to secure your seat as places are limited.

With over 10,000 visitors expected to attend the biennial Fair on Tuesday, 13, and Wednesday, 14 May, visitors are strongly advised to register online in advance to gain fast-track entry to this free industry event.

For more information or to register online visit www.pigandpoultry.org.uk.

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