Through a strategic alliance on food security research, these three institutions will harness their expertise across a range of disciplines, from biosciences to economics.
Professor Michael Winter OBE, of the University of Exeter, chair of the Working Group established to set up the alliance, said: “The range of relevant work in all three institutions is enormously wide. It encompasses not only bioscientists engaged in plant breeding and tackling crop diseases, but also leading work on farm animal welfare at Bristol’s School of Veterinary Science and the full breadth of economic and social science expertise at Exeter and Bristol.”
Professor Alistair Hetherington at the University of Bristol explained: “We need to work together to achieve both the critical mass and the level of cross-disciplinarity required to tackle complex issues of farming, food and the land.”
Professor Maurice Moloney, Director of Rothamsted Research, commented on the partnership, saying “collaborations of this nature are essential as we look meet the challenges of global food and energy security”. He also highlighted Rothamsted’s exciting new research facility, the new Farm Platform, at North Wyke in Devon, which “gives us the facilities and technology to conduct collaborative research”. He added: “We are looking for researchers to work with us on this Platform to explore alternative land use scenarios and their impacts”.
A formal launch of the new Alliance will take place in London in autumn 2011.