East Malling Trust chairman Dr Ian Graham-Bryce has made a plea for further funding for horticultural research, following a report published by the Royal Horticultural Society suggesting that some £2 billion should be invested into the sector in the next 10 years.
Graham-Bryce told delegates at the National Fruit Show in Kent that the horticultural sector was facing a period of turbulence and that substantial changes were taking place. He also made it known that the trust would not be able to fully fund East Malling Research (EMR) indefinitely.
He said: “Horticultural funding for research has collapsed and EMR is searching for other funding. The trust cannot fund it at the rate it has been and the industry needs to invest in co-ordinating with each other.
“The Royal Society’s announcement couldn’t say it better: it looks at horticulture’s capabilities in the country and how important that is. It is top of the food security agenda.
“Horticultural research can obviously make a huge amount of difference, but for that we need a significant investment in horticultural production. It is unrealistic to sit in the past. We have a very different climate now and we have made it worse for ourselves by the withdrawal of [chemical] agents.
“The trust is the largest single funding body of top-fruit research and we are in it for the long term, but we can’t do it on our own. Co-ordination in the industry is essential to get the best for the future,” added Graham-Bryce.
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