A new crop health and protection centre backed by the likes of Tesco, Farmcare, Unilever, Campden BRI and Bayer CropScience has won £23.1 million of government funding over four years
Created as part of the agri-tech strategy, the Centre for Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) will be located at the National Agri-Food Innovation campus at Sand Hutton, near York.
It will allow farmers access to the best sustainability technologies and protocols and lead the way in developing solutions to the challenges facing world agriculture, a statement said.
Other partners include Warwick University, the Met Office, Rothamsted Research, Cranfield University and the AHDB.
Its aims also include to share resources, optimise return on research and development costs, reduce waste and accelerate the registration process for new products.
Interim chief executive of the new organisation, Andrew Swift, said: “CHAP will establish the UK as a world-leader in agri-technology, innovation and sustainability.
“By taking science to the farm, CHAP will help farmers, growers and the food industry to improve yield, reduce costs and meet the need for sustainable solutions to present and future challenges.”
Sam Millar, Campden BRI’s director of technology said crop protection is essential to securing a sustainable supply of food, but is also subject to many changing pressures.
“Following the creation of our Primary Production and Processing department, we have plans for further investment to expand our existing capabilities and expertise in the area of primary production, raw materials and ingredients, and primary processing operations,” said Millar.
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