Dr Nigel Kerby of Mylnefield Research Services - the commercial arm of the Scottish Crop Rsearch Institute - has called for a greater investment in plant breeding, in the face of mounting global challenges to food and water security.

“Plant breeding can address all these issues and the need for healthier food,” he told freshinfo. “We will need plant breeders for the future and they have got to have a huge raft of skills. We can address a lot of societal and business needs through plant breeding.

“We are bad at making our children aware of the importance of plant breeding and there are no MsC courses solely dedicated to the topic. The UK is pivotal in the plant breeding world.”

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