£30 million boost for agricultural science
17 Oct 2013
The Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) announced last week it is to invest £30m to boost innovation in agricultural technology.
The Agri-Tech Catalyst has been launched to help businesses and researchers develop innovative solutions for the global agricultural technology sector.
The Agri-Tech Catalyst, set up by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Technology Strategy Board with £70M of government funding, will help to commercialise UK agricultural innovation and bridge the gap between laboratory research and the commercial marketplace.
Breakthroughs in areas such as nutrition, plant science, informatics, satellite imaging, remote sensing, meteorology and precision farming mean that there are a variety of opportunities in this area.
Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC chief executive said: “The launch of this catalyst will help to translate our world-leading food and farming research into practice so that we can make the most of these opportunities and offer real contributions to global food security.”
The Agri-Tech Catalyst is designed to take innovations from intial concept to commercialisation, awarding grants for early-stage pre-industrial research feasibility studies, industrial research, and late-stage pre-experimental and experimental feasibility studies.
