This year’s British Pig & Poultry Fair, at Stoneliegh Park on May 13/14, will include a special discussion on securing funding for a new pig and poultry centre of scientific excellence
The Government has made £90 million available for UK centres for innovation as part of its strategy to make UK farming more competitive, productive, resilient and sustainable. The British Pig & Poultry Fair will discuss if pigs and poultry want their share for a monogastric centre of innovation, and if so, we must act quickly or miss out.
The UK pig and poultry sectors can be proud of the role they’ve played in leading many industry developments over the years. However, without securing future funding they run a real risk of falling behind other countries in terms of new innovations and developments.
“To allow the pig and poultry sectors to be at the forefront of the UK agricultural industry in terms of technological advancements, a centre of excellence for the monogastric sector is essential,” Angela Booth of ABN says. “We need the whole industry, from producers right through to commercial companies, to come together and show enthusiasm for such a dedicated resource to be able to secure a portion of the £90 million fund.”
David Gardner of RASE adds that while the UK has some of the very best genetics in the world, without new innovations for production we are going to struggle to compete in the global market.
“Where in the past we may have seen numerous key research people, across several research centres, we now only have a hand full at most, due to a real lack of funding,” he said.
In the past, the success of this research has led to major industry developments such as the research by Dr Cole at Nottingham University, who pioneered the concept of the “ideal protein” that’s now universally applied in pig nutrition.
“The UK agricultural industry as a whole is extremely diverse and there will be high demand for funding from the £90 million on offer,” Angela Booth adds. “ABN and RASE are extremely passionate that the pig and poultry sectors come together at the fair and act now to secure their share, and gain investment for facilities and more importantly, people for the future.”
The two organisations feel it’s vital that producers are involved in shaping the priorities for a centre of innovation within the sector and there’s no better place to discuss the idea than at the British Pig & Poultry Fair. Anyone interested in getting involved in the discussion can take part on Tuesday, May 13 at 3.30pm in the Forum Theatre.
Leading the discussion will be the managing director of Cargill Provimi, Martin Douglas OBE, along with the technical director of Primary Diets, Paul Toplis. The pair will be taking questions on how to set up such a centre and what it could do for British producers.
